Virus Digidestined
by mellra
Summary: Naruto was sure going to summer camp would be boring, even with his two cousins attending with him. He had no idea how exciting it'd become for him and seven other children as they go from regular campers, to DigiDestined!
1. Chapter 1

Hello there! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and this story is about how a group of eight friends and I…Actually, it's probably for the best I start at the beginning. Just like you, I was born on planet Earth. More specifically, I live in Tokyo, Japan with my mom after my father disappeared four years ago. It all started when I was eight years old when I went off to summer camp with my two cousins, never knowing our lives would be forever changed…

 **POV Switch**

A young boy with wild blonde hair sat at the base of a tree going through the contents of his backpack. His blue eyes glinted with mischief as he sorted through his various pranking supplies that he brought for his time at summer camp, a wide smile stretching his whisker birthmarks on his cheeks so he looked like a literal Cheshire Cat.

"Alright let's see here: itching powder, check. Joy buzzer, check. Rubber chicken, check. Snow in the middle of summer, che…wait, what?" he finished in confusion as he looked up. Sure enough, white drops of frozen water where falling from the sky almost lazily. "Huh, that's different. Bet the weather man is really gonna get an earful today," he said thoughtfully as he stared at the new fallen snow.

Just as suddenly as the snow started, it became a raging blizzard. "AGH! Now I wish I'd brought my snowy weather pranking supplies…and a pair of warmer pants!" Naruto Uzumaki cried out as he grabbed his bag of tricks and ran with the other kids in the area to a shrine located where they were camping at when it became obvious the tents weren't going to cut it.

Once inside, Naruto took note of the other kids he had been introduced to earlier that day. First there were his two cousins: Yamato "Matt" Ishida and Takeru "T.K." Takaishi. Both boys had similar blonde hair and eyes to their cousin but just a shade darker in color. Matt was the eldest of the trio and tended to be overprotective of the two younger cousins. Naruto once described him as a plastic bubble that walks, but he still is a very caring individual. T.K. is the same age as Naruto but by the way he acts at times you'd think he was younger. Naruto gave him the nickname of Crybaby T.K. until his mother gave him a good smack upside the head for it, but the two were good friends considering both boys were raised by their mothers, were babied by Matt, and tended to get into more trouble than boys their age should. They were maternal cousins, three times removed according to their mothers, but the boys tended to just refer to each other as simply cousins.

Sora Takenouchi is a girl who had established herself as a sort of 'mother hen' to the group and was a bit tomboyish in nature. In short, she reminded Naruto of his own mother. Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi was a boy that, while older than T.K. and Naruto, was nearly their height and gave what Naruto dubbed 'teacher talk' in that he tended to take things very literally and explain things to great detail. Not to mention he was a complete computer bug. Mimi Tachikawa was a stereotypical valley girl who looked like she'd be more at home in a mall then out camping, which caused Naruto to wonder why in the heck she was out here. Joe Kido was the oldest and by far dorkiest boy Naruto had ever met. If Matt was a plastic bubble, then Joe was the bubble boy given that he seemed paranoid and germaphobic to the extreme. Finally there was, Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, a jock like boy who wore sports goggles all the time and seemed to take up the leadership role for their camp group almost immediately.

After several minutes of listening to the pounding snow and roaring wind, things seemed to quiet down a bit. Hesitantly, Tai opened the door and they all gaped. The entire clearing was covered in a thick blanket of snow. The others crowded behind him eager to see as well.

"Wow. I want to make a snowman!" TK yelled and ran out pushing past Tai. Matt quickly followed after yelling after him,

"TK slow down!" Mimi also began to wander out.

"Whoa! If only I had remembered to pack my fluffy pink snow shoes," she said wistfully. Joe came out looking worried,

"And I was worried about catching a cold, but just look at this, this is even worse!" But he nonetheless joined the others outside. Sora stood next to Tai with her arms around herself shivering,

"Brrr! I'm freezing!" she exclaimed as she gripped her bare arms. Tai shortly followed with an awed look on his face…right up until a snowball smacked him in the back of the head.

"Hey!" he yelped before turning around to find the perpetrator, only to find Naruto standing with his arms held behind his back whistling innocently. Narrowing his eyes at the younger child, Tai asked accusingly, "Did you throw that snowball?"

Naruto looked surprised at the question. "What snowball?" he asked in confusion before a look of understanding came over his face and he said, "Oh, you mean _this_ snowball?" He finished by whipping out his right arm from behind his back and tossing his second concealed snowball right at Tai's face. Fortunately for the goggles wearing boy, his reflexes were sharp enough so that he was able to duck in time. Unfortunately for Sora, she was standing right behind Tai and took the snowball right to the back of the head.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Naruto called out while throwing out a seemingly endless horde of snowballs from behind his back, nailing each kid at least once. The other campers tried to duck and dodge out of the way and soon it was a full blown warzone. This lasted for several minutes until the kids realized one important fact: none of them were dressed to deal with winter weather warfare! "I'm c-c-cold!" Naruto chattered out as he rubbed his arms furiously, his orange and black T-shirt doing nothing to protect him from the cold, not to mention his khaki shorts provided little protection to his knocking less.

Matt walked up and smacked his younger cousin upside the head, causing him to yelp. "Next time, think of that before starting a snowball fight in summer clothes!" he chided.

Naruto was about to argue back before a flash of light caught all eight children's attention. Looking up, they were greeted by a beautiful sight! A stunning mixture of shades of blue, purple and green lit up the sky and moving slowly around one another as if caught in an unknown breeze. The whole scene glowed with an ethereal brightness that shone from the sky with an intensity and mysteriousness equal to that of the full moon on a clear night. Soon the others also took notice and began to stare.

"Its beautiful..." exclaimed Mimi in an awed tone.

"Yeah but what is it?" asked Izzy.

"It looks like the Northern Lights." said Sora.

"The Aurora Borealis? That's impossible we're way too far south to see it." Izzy rebuked.

"Why don't you tell it that?" she remarked dryly.

"Maybe we should go back inside" Joe suggested (begged).

"And miss this?" Matt responded "It's like the sky is short-circuiting!"

"Hey, somethings happening!" Naruto cried out as he noticed something forming within the lights. A small spinning green disc had appeared in the Aurora. Suddenly light burst from its center and small glowing objects rocketed towards them.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Tai yelled and pulled Sora down with him as the meteors impacted in front of each them hard enough to send the snow flying into the air. As the snow settled everyone began to get up.

"Is everyone alright?" Sora asked.

After a round of affirmatives from everyone they went to investigate the meteors that landed in front of them. A light began to shine from the ground in front of everyone from each of the impacts. A small shape appeared in the light and began to move upwards covered in some sort of bubble of energy. Naruto instinctively grabbed his, along with everyone else.

As he opened his palm he saw a small device rested within it. Looking to the other kids, the whiskered boy took note of what the other kids were doing with theirs. Some, like Izzy, were just examining them while others, like TK, were pushing every button on the device and waiting to see what happens.

The device looked something like a watch it could be clipped onto a belt or sash. Then the screens all began to glow causing the group to look up and stare in shock as a huge wave of water appeared from nowhere and scooped all eight of them up.

Among the screaming and horror filled shrieks of the others Naruto couldn't help but laugh and whoop as they felt the sensation of falling uncontrollably like the thrill rides he loved to go on, followed by bright lights whooshing past him and impossible shapes dancing all around him before it all faded to black.

"Naruto? Na-RU-To? NarutoNarutoNarutoNarutoNaruto?" the voice of a young child was the first thing the Uzumaki was made aware of as his consciousness came back to him.

"maljfah…I don't wanna go to school today," he mumbled in return.

"What's school? Is it some kind of food?" the voice asked curiously.

Slowly, the cobwebs began to fade from the blonde's mind as he sat up with a groan. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Naruto looked around and noticed that he was in some kind of tropical forest if the plants were anything to go by. Looking for the source of the voice, Naruto was confused to see no one around him.

"Huh? Did I just imagine a voice talkin' to me or somethin?" he asked aloud in confusion.

"Nope~! I'm right here!" the voice called from his lap.

Looking down, Naruto froze at the sight of a strange creature blinking up at him with a single giant orange eye. The creature had a grayish body and was reminiscent of a spider. However, it was definitely NOT a spider. For starters it was way too big to be a spider, nearly the size of the blonde's own head! It had six claw-tipped legs supporting its body, three on either side, as well as two feeler like appendages on the top of its head. Naruto could only stare in dumb silence as the thing stared right back at him. Suddenly, the eye closed upward that made it seem like it was smiling despite the fact it had no visible mouth.

The thing said in the same young boy's voice from before, "Hiyah, Naruto!"

That caused Naruto's brain to reboot as he let out a (manly) scream and scrambled back on his hands as fast as he could, causing the…spider-thing…to lose its balance and fall off onto the forest floor. Naruto kept backing up until his back hit the base of a nearby tree while he stared at the creature as it righted itself up, the blonde was wide eyed and panting. Keep in mind, Naruto did not have arachnophobia, but having a spider shaped creature that looked as if it crawled its way out of a B-rated sci-fi movie suddenly be on your lap and _talking_ to you would give one a healthy level of respect towards the spider species.

"Hey, that was rude ya'know!" the thing (he?) cried indignantly as it (he?) scuttled towards the human on its six legs.

Calming down his pounding heart somewhat as childish curiosity started to replace mindless panic, Naruto looked over the creature and said slowly, "S-sorry, you just kinda surprised me there Mr…?"

The spider-thing waved a claw in the air dismissively and said, "Ah it's okay, I'd be surprised to see someone as awesome as me too! The name's Tsumemon, and I've been lookin' forward to meeting you for a long time, Naruto!"

Naruto blinked as he gently picked up the now identified Tsumemon and looking him in the eye. "You were…waiting for me? And wait, how'd you know my name? And what are you?"

Tsumemon giggled at that and said in a teasing tone, "Ya'know, you ask a lot of questions. But that's okay! Yeah I was waiting for you, just like the others were waiting for those other humans that showed up. And as for your name," at this he seemed to shrug his shoulders, an impressive feat considering he had no visible shoulders, "I've always kinda knew it. Not sure why really, but does it really matter now that you're here?"

While puzzled by the second part of the odd creature's sentence, Naruto noticed something in the first part that caught his attention. "Wait, other humans? Did more people arrive with me?"

Tsumemon nodded his…body?...before leaping out of Naruto's hands and said, "Yep! There were eight of you guys that showed up and the others should be with them now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were all waking up now too!" Gesturing with a clawed limb he continued, "C'mon, I'll take you to 'em!"

Naruto followed Tsumemon as he scurried through the surrounding vegetation. The creature made sure to keep ahead of Naruto, but remained close enough so that they could still talk. "Ya'know, the others and me were waiting a long time so that some of us were starting to wonder if you guys would ever show up! Not me though! I figured you'd all show up eventually, and I was right!"

Pushing aside a low hanging branch, Naruto commented, "You keep talkin' about these 'others'. Are they like you?"

Tsumemon laughed, "Ha! Those guys _wish_ they were as cool as me! But no, we're not all alike even though we share some similar stuff. Though we've been together for a while now, so we're all pretty close in our own ways."

Naruto nodded at that before a question from earlier started nagging the back of his mind. "By the way, you never did tell me what you are exactly," he mentioned.

Tsumemon hummed, "I guess I didn't, huh? Alright, I'm a Digi – GET DOWN!" he finished with a frantic cry as he leapt at Naruto, pinning him to the ground.

Naruto was about to ask what the big idea was when a sound like a mix of insects and a jumbo jet passed over their heads. Looking up, Naruto could only gape at what looked to be an enormous red and green stag beetle passed over their heads. Fortunately, it seemed the thickness of the canopy blocked them from the behemoth's view as it continued flying off in the opposite direction.

Once it was gone, Naruto regained his voice and asked, "W-what…WAS that thing?!"

The one-eyed being seemed grim, "That was Kuwagamon. He's a big meanie who gets his kicks out of bullying smaller Digimon like me," his eye seemed to widen in alarm and realization, "And he's going towards where the others are! They're in trouble!"

While Naruto didn't completely understand everything Tsumemon said, he did understand the little guy's friends might be in danger. And, if he remembered correctly, the other human's Tsumemon mentioned would be with his friends, so they'd be in danger as well! Without thinking, Naruto picked up Tsumemon and began running in the direction Kuwagamon flew off in.

"What are you doing?" Tsumemon asked from his position in Naruto's arms as he sprinted as fast as his small legs could carry him.

"You said your friends are in danger, right? Well we gotta go help them!" Naruto answered as he jumped over a tree stump.

"Do you know where you're going?" Tsumemon inquired.

"Not a clue, but you said that giant bug thing is going in the right direction so all I gotta do is follow its trail," Naruto explained as he used his free hand to point to the tops of the trees they were running under, their tops sheared off if by a giant razor blade.

"…Oh, good idea. I got a smart guy as a partner!" he cheered before asking eagerly, "Do you know what we should do when we get to the others?"

"I'm kinda working on it as we go along," Naruto replied.

"I retract my previous statement," Tsumemon stated glumly.

"Hey!"

It didn't take the duo long to find the group Tsumemon mentioned earlier. Naruto was glad, but not overly surprised, to see the humans Tsumemon mentioned were in fact Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, and T.K. along with their new partners. Tai got a pink ball named Koromon, Matt's partner was named Tsunomon, Sora got Yokomon, Izzy got Motimon, Joe got Bukamon, and T.K. was partnered with Tokomon. Unfortunately for the group, Kuwagamon found them all as well and it was _not_ a warm welcome they received. The humans and their partners were forced to run from the giant insects snapping teeth and blade like claws. They even literally hid inside a tree in order to escape the enraged bug, though it was less of a tree and more like a hologram designed to look like a tree. After they were done hiding, the group properly introduced each other to their new partners and they finally discovered what the strange creatures were. They were Digimon: Digital Monsters!

"Huh, that's weird," Naruto commented as he picked up Tsumemon, barely noticing Joe cringe and inch away from the spider like Digimon (obviously one of his many fears being spiders).

"What's weird, Naruto?" T.K. asked his cousin.

"Well, I coulda sworn Mimi would be here with us. Didn't she get one of these weird watch things too?" Naruto pondered.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the forest and Naruto said, "Oh, that would be her."

Needless to say the group ran quickly only to find Mimi and her new partner Tanemon being chased by Kuwagamon, and in turn found themselves on the run from the red beetle once more. The angry insect Digimon ran them right into a clearing where they found themselves backed onto a cliff.

"Great, anyone bring a helicopter?" Matt asked sarcastically as Kuwagamon landed in the area before stalking towards them menacingly.

Just when it looked like the kids were done for, their partners leapt forward with a battle cry. However, all the smaller monsters could do was blow bubble like attacks at the larger beast that had no effect, and Kuwagamon easily brushed them aside. Despite the kids yelling for them to run, the little Digimon continued to attack. Suddenly, the devices they had all picked up began to glow and their Digimon followed suit. The small digital monsters cried out:

"Koromon Digivolve to...Agumon!"

"Tsunomon Digivolve to...Gabumon!"

"Yokomon Digivolve to...Biyomon!"

"Tanemon Digivolve to...Palmon!"

"Bukamon Digivolve to...Gomamon!"

"Motimon Digivolve to...Tentomon!"

Tsumemon Digivolve to…Dracmon!"

"Tokomon Digivolve to...Patamon!" (1)

Each of the kids watched mystified as the glowing shapes became bigger and changed, eventually revealing the new forms of the Digimon. Even the Kuwagamon looked confused about what had happened. Without slowing their pace, the now bigger Digimon attacked.

"Alright everybody, attack!" yelled Agumon launching a ball of fire from his mouth while crying, "Pepper breath!" It hit the Kuwagamon in the face causing it to roar and shake its head. Then Biyomon, Tentomon and Gabumon all launched their attacks as well.

"Blue blaster!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Spiral Twister!" The blue and green fire combined to nail the Kuwagamon in the face. This, along with the electric attack, caused it to rear back roaring with pain.

"Poison Ivy!" cried Palmon as she roped the insect's back legs together destabilizing it further,

"Boom Bubble!" from Patamon swelling up then releasing a large burst of air. This hit Kuwagamon at the same time Gomamon from behind body-slammed its legs causing the Digimon to fall down on its back.

Suddenly, Dracmon appeared in front of the downed Digimon with a wide grin on his face. He opened up his hands to show eyes on his palms which he pointed at Kuwagamon's face. "Eye of Nightmare!" he declared as dark energy shot from the eyes into the insect's face, momentarily blinding it.

"Now all together!" cried Agumon as they all launched their attacks at the flailing Champion causing it to burst into flames screaming and rolling out of sight back into the forest.

The kids stood in silence, gaping at the battle and the sight of their new friends as they turned around staring at the humans. Naruto was the first to snap out of it and whoop, "Holy crapbaskets, that was AWESOME!"

He then yelped when Matt slapped him upside the head. "Mind the language," the elder cousin chided sternly before smiling and saying, "That was pretty cool though."

"Agumon! Good job buddy!" Tai added in. The dinosaur in question smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"It was nothing Tai" he said bashfully and then tried leaping into Tai's arms like when he was Koromon except this, rather predictably, ended up flattening Tai. It didn't stop him from laughing though. All the other now-Rookie level Digimon also celebrated with their partners, hugging and laughing.

Naruto and Dracmon gave each other a fist bump before looking his partner's new form. Dracmon had gone from being a spider shaped Digimon the size of Naruto's head to being a bipedal human shape nearly as big as Naruto himself. Dracmon was the shape of a human child, but he wore an executioner's hood over the top of his head that had red and green eyes painted over where a human's eyes would be. He had bat like wings coming from his back that he had tied around his front like a belt as well as black pants, shoes, and arm bands. Finally, the Virus type had long red claws on the tips of his fingers and poking out of his shoes along with a devil's tail poking out from his spine.

After giving his partner a once over, Naruto gave the Digimon a thumbs up and said excitedly, "You look totally boss man!"

Dracmon gave a wide smile showing all his teeth as he put his hands behind his head. "Was there ever any doubt?" a look of confusion crossed his face as he asked, "Um, that's a good thing right?"

The other campers were going over their Digimon as well. "So you're Gabumon now?" Matt asked. The dog-like Digimon nodded.

"That's right" he said cheerfully, "We Digivolved."

"At least you can't fly anymore" Joe said thankfully to Gomamon. "Now you can't sit on my shoulders." Gomamon seemed nonplussed.

"Don't worry about that, I'll find a way" he said grinning.

"Great…"

"Wow you look so cool Patamon!" yelled Tk.

The flying Digimon blushed and said bashfully, "You really think so?"

"So now you're a pink bird instead of a plant?" Sora asked confused. Biyomon beamed up at her,

"That's Digivolving for ya!" she said smiling.

"You look a lot more stylish now than before Tane-I mean Palmon" Palmon in response wiggled her root-like feet.

"Thanks Mimi. We showed him didn't we?" Mimi nodded happily.

Suddenly a loud roar came from the forest. The group looked as the Kuwagamon came back into view, notably angered. It was clearly damaged; there was a large dark bruise across the side of its head and one of its pincers had been bent inwards but it was alive and although it had no visible eyes they were certain it was glaring at them with hatred. Before the Rookie Digimon could mount another attack, Kuwagamon lunged forward and sank its long pincers into the dirt in front of them, directly through the rock of the cliff. The earth creaked and groaned as the sound of grinding rock assaulted the children's ears. The part of the cliff they were on gave way and they all plummeted towards the river below screaming.

Patamon and Biyomon trying desperately to fly whilst holding onto Tk and Sora respectively but ultimately being too small. Palmon tried using her vines to grab onto Mimi and the cliff face but only succeeding in pulling more rocks down with them. Tentomon held onto Izzy, angling himself so that the small insect would hit the water first and not the child.

Dracmon and Naruto held onto each other letting out very 'manly' screams as they plunged towards the water. This didn't last long, however, as soon they hit the water knocking the wind out of themselves. Naruto could feel the strong current trying to pull him down the river but he was strangely lifted up.

He surfaced forcefully next to a coughing Agumon as they were both lifted out of the water by scores and scores of brightly colored fish. The fish formed a large raft on which they sat catching the rest of the kids as they fell.

It didn't take long to see the source of their miraculous rescue as Gomamon was at the front leading the fish, barking orders like a proud general. Once all the others were safely on the raft it took them down river; away from the cliff and Kuwagamon.

They were dropped off at a nearby riverbank as Gomamon thanked the fish for helping them and those who had fallen in tried to dry their clothes.

"So you guys became bigger?" Matt asked unsure. Gabumon nodded.

"We Digivolved," Izzy seemed interested rather interested at this technical term

"I assume that that is when you evolve to a higher level," he inquired.

"That's right" said Tentomon. "We were in-training Digimon. But then we Digivolved to rookie."

"In short, we became more awesome," Dracmon commented sagely as he crossed his arms and nodded his head, earning him an eye roll from some of the other Digimon.

"What level was that red bug?" Sora asked

"He was a Champion. The level higher than Rookie" answered Biyomon.

Joe looked panicked and said, "Guys this is way over our heads. We just got attacked by monsters! We need to find a way to get back home right now!"

"We'd love too, but we have no idea where we are," Matt answered folding his arms.

"I theories from what evidence we've seen so far that we might not even be on the same world as before."

Mimi looked at Izzy with worry in her face, "You mean we might not be in Japan anymore?"

"Forget Japan." Matt replied. "We're probably not even on Earth!"

"I think its awesome!" said T.K. excitedly. "We're like explorers!"

"Yeah! Suck on that, Lewis and Clark!" Naruto crowed.

"More like pioneers actually," Izzy declared matter-of-factly. Ignoring Naruto waving his hand and mouthing 'Semantics' to his teammates. He cupped his chin with his hand in thought, "For now we should focus on finding our exact location and building shelter to last the night."

"Wait a minute" interjected Sora, "What if more of those monsters attack us? What will we do then?" Biyomon perked up at this. Standing up straight in front of Sora like her own personal guard.

"Don't worry Sora" she said. "I'll protect you. We're partners after all."

"Thanks Biyomon," Sora smiled.

"Wait a minute. If we're not even on the same planet then how are we supposed to even contact our home!?" Matt asked staring pointedly at Izzy. The smaller boy balked under Matt's intense gaze and harsh words.

"Well...er...I…well...you...see." He continued stammering for a few moments before he paused for breath to compose himself, "I-I don't know," he admitted in a small voice. Matt looked ready to yell and opened his mouth.

Naruto, knowing that his older cousin can get rather offensive whenever he gets riled, decided to defuse the situation. "Hey, relax. It's not all that bad. After all, we coulda ended up on completely different locations or something with more of those big Digimon coming after us," he said with a laugh, unknowingly provoking Murphy's Law.

"Well I think the idea of building a shelter is a good one. We should make sure we have some place safe to spend the night," Sora quickly said, catching onto what the younger boy was doing. Sadly, it didn't quite work.

"If it even gets dark here?!" Matt growled at Izzy,

"That phenomenon would be unnatural!" the shorter boy responded starting to get aggravated himself.

"How is anything that has happened so far been natural?" countered Joe. The Digimon watched in silence having never seen humans arguing before, or even at all. T.K. and Mimi also stayed out of the group argument saying nothing but looking worried.

"And what are we gonna do about food?" asked Matt to the group. "I don't see fruits on these trees, we haven't seen any animals, we could easily starve." he finished.

"Well nothing will happen if we just sit around here" They all turned to regard Tai, Sora standing behind him.

"Then what do you suggest we do then?" challenged Matt raising an eyebrow. Tai grinned and began to walk off in the direction of the flowing river, "Hey, where are you going?"

"I saw an ocean earlier back on the mountain," Tai stopped and looked at Matt, he grinned again, "There might be fish or even a boat. Let's go check it out!" Then continued walking with Agumon following tentatively behind him.

Joe crossed his arms, "Well I think we should stay here and wait for the campmaster to come get us and that-"

"Joe!" cried Gomamon. "Everyone's leaving without you!" Joe looked and saw that everyone, including Gomamon, had indeed stood up and had begun to follow Tai up the river.

Joe panicked and ran after them shouting, "Wait for me!"

The eight kids and the Digimon walked along the river bank following the flow of water to the ocean. Many of them still had questions about the world they were in and the creatures that inhabited it.

"So, Digital monsters. Who exactly came up with that?" asked Izzy.

Tentomon flying next to him replied, "Just call us Digimon, we like that."

"I only asked because your composition isn't at all machine-like," Izzy responded.

"Oh really?" Tentomon asked in a challenging manner; electricity began sparking between his wings as of gearing up for his Super Shocker.

The noise was so loud Izzy had to cover his head and yell, "Quit it!"

"These trees are really beautiful" Sora remarked absent-mindedly looking at the forest on their right. "I've never seen plants like these before". Many of the trees were very odd shapes. Some being as smooth and straight as rods whilst other were twisted and gnarled and even had loops in their trunks.

It was as if they had been made by someone who had heard of trees but didn't understand how they grew. The other plants were just as bizarre. Some of them had flowers as large as she was with beautiful crimson petals. Whilst others were rather more normal-sized; scattered in somehow neatly trimmed bunches along their path.

"You must have some really boring trees where you come from," Biyomon replied light-heartedly walking next to Sora.

"They look rather sub-tropical but many of them I don't even recognize," said Izzy. "This supports my hypothesis of being stranded on another planet," he concluded.

Naruto was chatting it up with Dracmon as this was happening. Currently, the blonde was telling the humanoid Digimon of his pranking exploits, to which the Virus Type found highly amusing if his near maniacal laughter was anything to go by. "- And then when the guy was trying to get the glue off his face, he trips and falls right into the tub full of glitter I set up earlier! He ended up sparkling like a fairy princess for over a week, and to this day most of the guys in my class call him 'Princess Mizuki!'"

Dracmon was nearly on the ground in laughter, his hands clutching his stomach as tears poured down his hood. "Oh man, that was Hi-LARIOUS! You gotta show me how to pull pranks like that!"

Naruto grinned and gave the little demon a fist bump while saying, "Sure thing my man, I always wanted a partner in crime!" For some unknown reason, the other humans and their Digimon felt a chill down to their very souls, like someone walked over their grave.

"Palmon who does your hair?" asked Mimi trying to make conversation, and to put her mind off the strange feeling she just got.

"It's natural. I wake up in the morning like this," she replied.

"Wow! Maybe you can let me work with it," the pink enthusiast said with sincere shock.

"Do you think that maybe you put too much emphasis on appearance?" Palmon shot back to try to hide her blush.

Mimi put her finger to her chin thoughtfully, "Well I never thought about that."

Tai and Agumon were at the front meanwhile with the goggle wearing boy was planning their next course of action while Agumon offered his encouragement. Suddenly, the little yellow lizard stopped and sniffed the air. "The ocean!" Gabumon cried out apparently also smelling it.

Gomamon who was swimming in the river next to them laughed with delight, "Everybody in the water!"

"I'd rather not" said Joe, "I might catch a cold."

T.K. seemed as ecstatic Gomamon; throwing his arms in the air yelling, "I'm gonna build a sand castle!"

Naruto joined in saying, "Maybe I can go Boogie Boarding!"

"Me too!" Dracmon cheered, and followed up while still having the same wide grin on his face, "I have no idea what that is!"

Matt gave his younger cousin a look. "Naruto, you don't have a Boogie…Board," he trailed off as he saw Naruto pull a Boogie Board out of his backpack that was mysteriously smaller than the board. "Never mind," he amended, used to his cousin seemingly pull off the impossible once again.

"I didn't bring my bathing suit" pouted Mimi crossing her arms.

Matt stood there for a minute then shouted, "Hey listen!" Everyone quieted down. A faint ringing could now be heard emanating from the beach. The ringing didn't sound natural, it had an obvious pattern one they all recognized, that of a...

"Telephone!" cried Joe running forward. "With a phone that means people, people means home!" he ran to the beach everyone following close behind. As they got closer they eventually saw five payphones arranged in a line one after the other on an otherwise perfectly normal beach. The one nearest to them was ringing. Tai overtook Joe and opened the door. At which point the phone stopped ringing.

"Well this isn't weird at all" Sora said sarcastically folding her arms.

"Who cares? At least now we can call someone," Matt strode forward to one of the phones with T.K. following him. Izzy also chose a phone booth and walked in muttering something about aliens.

"I'm calling daddy," said Mimi who took another phone booth.

"I'm calling emergency services, they'll know what to do" Joe muttered to himself walking into an unoccupied phone booth.

"Why not just order a pizza while you're at it?" Sora said to him sarcastically. Although she too after a few moments went into the last unoccupied phone booth to make a call.

"Ooh~! Could you order mine with extra pepperoni and ramen?" Naruto asked innocently, apparently not getting the sarcasm. This earned him a few odd looks before the older kids went to work on the phones. However, none of them worked. This, however, didn't stop Joe from trying every phone number he knew, including one that was apparently for the army. How or why Joe knew this number, none of the campers knew and quite frankly didn't want to find out.

Their attempts were eventually halted when the tired and hungry kids decided to take a break.

"Where do we get food?" Sora asked "I haven't got any."

"Joe's carrying all the emergency rations" Tai said pointing over his shoulder at Joe still trying to call someone on the phones. "Hey Joe!" he yelled, "Get over here, you've got all the food!"

"Don't you know its rude to yell at someone on the telephone!?" Joe angrily yelled back. Nevertheless not long after they were sharing out the food. They sat in a circle trying to divide the food. They rations were just enough for eight people for three days they quickly spotted a problem.

"When you factor in the Digimon we've only got enough food for about half an hour," Sora protested.

Gabumon held up a paw, "No worries. We Digimon can hunt and forage for ourselves."

Biyomon also nodded, "Don't worry about us. We know how to get food," All the other Digimon murmured their agreements as well. Agumon's stomach growled. He looked embarrassed as everyone looked at him.

"You can have mine Agumon," Tai said handing him some biscuits, "I'm not hungry right now anyway." Agumon looked shocked.

"Thanks Tai!" he said gratefully and then eagerly began to dig in.

Suddenly, there was a rumble in the ground. Biyomon stood up and turned around. Sora looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

Biyomon looked serious frowning in the direction of the water. "Trouble," she stated.

A large burst of water shot out of the ground near the phone booths. The other stood up gasping. The water blast moved along the beach destroying the phone booths throwing their remains high into the sky only to come crashing down a few moments later into heaps of twisted metal and broken glass. The kids moved further back abandoning their supplies as a large column of sand began to rise out of the beach. The sand then burst apart revealing a spinning shell the size of a small house with spikes on it.

"It's a Shellmon!" yelled Tentomon as the sand was flung everywhere due to the wind.

"What's a Shellmon?!" Asked Izzy yelling back. Out of the bottom of the shell came two large, pink and tree-trunk thick arms. In between appeared a large grotesque head with green tentacles on top to look like hair. It began using its big arms to drag itself towards them.

"Something that gets mad for no reason!" Tentomon replied as they all prepared to defend themselves.

Joe started climbing the rock wall, "Quickly up here!" he yelled. The Shellmon upon seeing this stopped and lowered its head. Out of the mass of tentacles on its head out shot a torrent of water. It collided with the cliffs behind with enough force to cause Joe to lose his grip and fall. He hit the sandy beach unharmed but startled.

"Quickly attack!" yelled Tai, the Digimon happily obliged.

They ran forward with Agumon in the lead. Tentomon, Biyomon and Patamon took to the air to prepare their attacks, while Palmon darted to the side to throw the Shellmon off-balance.

"Pepper Breath!" cried Agumon unleashing a fireball from its mouth. It hit Shellmon in the mouth causing it to shake its head in pain.

"Blue Blaster!" cried Gabumon opening his mouth, but the flame fizzled out.

"Spiral Twister!" But this too fizzled out before it got anywhere near its target.

Tentomon tried next with, "Super Shocker!" but his electricity just weakly sparked in-between his wings.

Patamon inhaled as much as he could, "Boom Bubble?" as nothing but a wheezy gasp of air escaped him.

Dracmon charged forward with his mouth open wide, showing his pointed fangs. "Undead Fang!" he cried, but he then began to move sluggishly and Shellmon easily batted him back to the other Digimon with a tentacle.

"Poison Ivy! Huh?" Palmon said looking at her claws in confusion. Then Shellmon counterattacked. A tentacle whipped out striking Patamon from the sky. He lowered his head and head butted Palmon away. Then finally a torrent of water from his tentacles knocked the rest of the Digimon away. Only Agumon stood back up. He unleashed another Pepper Breath again hitting Shellmons mouth.

Izzy looked on in confusion beside the injured Tentomon, "Why is it only Agumon?"

"We're just too hungry," replied Tentomon weakly.

Sora realized, "Agumon's the only one that's eaten! The rest are still tired from before!"

"Did anyone get the number of that Railmon that hit me?" Dracomon asked groggily as Naruto helped him to his feet, shaking sand from all the wrong places.

Tai looked back at the other Digimon with their partners beside them.

"Agumon!" he cried out, "It's just you and me!" Agumon nodded as he turned towards Shellmon. Tai racked his brains. It didn't look good. A much smaller Digimon against a larger one in a one on one fight isn't good odds and even working together the Rookies weren't able to take Kuwagamon down completely.

When Agumon asked for a diversion, Tai picked up a piece of debris from the phone booth wreckage and chucked it at the turtle like Digimon. "Hey ugly, over here!" he called while trying to draw Shellmon's attention so Agumon would be open to attack. However, the small fireball seemed to just irritate the turtle. Picking up a larger piece of debris, Tai went on the offensive as Shellmon shot its tentacle like hair at the boy, snaring him. Agumon went to help, but soon found himself under Shellmon's paw. Right when Shellmon began to attack everyone else, Tai's Digivice started to glow as he cries out in worry. A familiar light engulfed Agumon as he once again Digivolves.

"Agumon, Digivolve to…Greymon!" standing in his much larger form, Greymon roars his defiance at the one who dared harm his partner and friends.

Seeing the newly Digivolved dinosaur as the bigger threat, Shellmon dropped Tai and the two Champion levels fought. As this is going on, Naruto turns to T.K. "I don't know about you, but this is _way_ more exciting than anything at boring old summer camp!" he cheers happily before turning back to the fight. "Woo-hoo! Go Greymon, you can do it! Kaiju movies got nothing on you!"

"Punish him! Break his legs!" Dracmon joins in on the cheer, earning him odd looks from everyone besides his partner as they scoot away from the possibly psychotic undead Digimon.

Eventually, Greymon defeated Shellmon, blasting him through the air and into the ocean. Exhausted, Greymon reverts to Agumon and collapses onto the sand. Tai ran towards the still prone form of Agumon. "Agumon are you ok? Say something!"

The exhausted Digimon weakly raised his head, "Do you have anything to eat?" he asked weakly. Tai smiled at him.

Turning to Dracmon, Naruto with stars in his eyes asked, "Do you think you'll become as cool as that?"

Dracmon scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Please, I'm already that cool. When I Digivolve, I'll be beyond any definition of the word 'cool' you can think of!"

Soon, a large pile of food from Joe and T.K.'s packs was laid out with all the Digimon eating from it. Sora was also there encouraging them to all eat their fill. It looked like keeping the Digimon fed was going to be an important task to survive out here. She didn't want to think of what would have happened had Tai not fed Agumon.

However, Matt was looking at Naruto expectantly as the whiskered Uzumaki avoided eye contact with his cousin while trying to whistle innocently. "C'mon Naruto, give it up," Matt said sternly.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Naruto denied stubbornly, which was ruined as sweat began pouring from his forehead.

Giving a frustrated sigh, Matt yanked the younger boy's bag off of his back and began to shake it, much to the boy's protest. Multiple pranking tools began falling out such as joy buzzers, Groucho glasses, and snakes in a can. Suddenly though, package upon package of ramen began pouring out of the bag. Soon a pile nearly the size of the Digimon formed on the ground.

"How did he-?" Izzy started, trying to figure out how the boy was able to fit all the ramen and prank supplies in one tiny bag.

"Don't bother, it'll save you some headaches," Matt advised.

"My ramen!" Naruto wept as the noodles were added to the ration pile.

What none of the children nor their Digimon knew was that this was just the start of an adventure that would determine not only the fate of the Digital World, but their world as well! Tune in next time on Digimon, Digital Monsters!

 **Dracmon** is an Undead Digimon and a carrier of the X Antibody whose name and design are derived from the fictional Count Dracula. It is the Dark Area's most mischievous Digimon. For the sake of a prank, it will meet the challenge unflinchingly even if it is accompanied by some risk. It once nearly got itself killed trying to graffiti the faces of all four of the Sovereigns...(it's unknown whether it succeeded). It was once a bloodsucking Digimon, but these days it forgets to suck blood, and it seems it's trying to play some kind of trick on the Royal Knights.

1\. I really don't think its necessary for me to describe each and every canon Digimon in 01 and 02, do you? For those of you who forgot which Digimon is which, the Digimon Wiki is a tremendous help.

 **AN:** What's this? Another continuous story mellra? Are you mad!? Well yes, but that's beside the point. I've been a longtime fan of Naruto/Digimon crossovers for a while now and have been wanting to do one myself but haven't found the right story I wanted to do (see my challenge story DigiDestined of Respect to see some of my earlier challenge ideas), but then this one hit me and I HAD to do it! But don't you worry, fans of my other stories, this story won't be updated until I have at least one more of my other stories completed (unless of course this story gets a larger positive review than my other stories, in which case I'll work on this instead and put one of my less popular stories on the backburner). This is gonna be a fun trip, and it most definitely won't just be a rehash of canon since I've got a couple original arcs planned for our Virus DigiDestined. It will have its similar elements though and I may skip an episode or two if I feel Naruto's presence wouldn't contribute in any way. I even have an all original Crest picked out for him, but that's going to have to wait until later. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do, and please remember to Read and Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon nor Naruto.

(Dracmon) If he did, they'd both suck!

(mellra) Hey what the…when did you get here?!

(Naruto) Well, you never do this kind of author-character interaction at the start of your other stories, so we decided to cut in and show our awesomeness! That way you won't have to just stick to boring old author's notes!

(mellra) While I appreciate it guys, I've always seen these sorts of things as a pain to write.

(Dracmon) So what? People love hilarious pre-chapter banter like this!

(mellra) I'd like to think they prefer the story more than what basically amounts to a writer arguing with himself.

(Naruto) Well how about we make this interesting?

(mellra) What did you have in mind?

(Naruto) Let's leave it up to the readers. If they say in the reviews they want to see more pre-chapter talks between you and the characters, we get to keep doing them.

(Dracmon) And if not, we'll drop it and let you get on with your crappy writing.

(mellra) All right, deal! You heard it folks; if you'd like to see me talking to the characters before or after a chapter, just give me a holler via reviews.

(Dracmon) And if you vote yes, you'll get the added bonus of me and my main man Naruto embarrass the crap out of mellra!

(mellra) Wait, what?!

(Naruto) Voting will continue until chapter four, so vote now!

 **P.S.** Special note for 0 Jordino 0 at the end of the chapter.

 **P.S.S** Since this is Naruto we're talking about, expect some stronger language than the original Digimon. Keep in mind I won't be dropping the F-Bomb every sentence.

 **Chapter 2: Danger and Digivolutions**

Naruto picked sulkily at his ramen as the humans and their Digimon ate a meal of mixed berries, fish, and ramen from Naruto's personal stash. It was later in the day since their arrival in the Digital World and, after a brief encounter with two dueling Monochromon, the group had discovered a lake to set up camp for the evening. Curiously enough, the place had a fully operating trolley car even with no tracks in sight. The group had gathered food and built a fire (courtesy of Agumon), and had finally settled down for the night.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Dracmon asked his partner as he seemed glummer than he was earlier.

"…can't believe they took my ramen…" he heard the blond mutter sulkily, causing the Virus Rookie to nearly face-vault.

"Jeeze, you really value this stuff, huh?" Dracmon commented as he looked down at his yet to be touched ramen.

"Are you kidding?" Matt asked from across the fire as he helped T.K. get his fish ready. "Naruto practically lives off that stuff. If it wasn't for his mom and godfather, he'd probably eat it for every meal!"

"And what's wrong with that?!" Naruto snapped at his cousin while taking a dramatic lecture pose, gaining the attention of human and Digimon alike. "Ramen is the most succulent dish ever created by mankind! It's noodlely, brothy goodness comes together with a wide variety of toppings, making it the greatest food in this or any planet!"

A tumble weed blew through the campsite.

"Sooo…" Dracmon started as he looked from the ramen to his partner once again, "If its that good, why didn't you offer it for the rest of us instead of trying to hoard it for yourself? I mean, I'm your partner right?"

"NARUTO DOESN'T SHARE RAMEN!" the whiskered boy shrieked, causing several of the group to jump (*cough*Joe*cough*). Realizing his overreaction, Naruto settled down with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, er, it's just… _hard_ …for me to see others eating ramen," he then said in a still audible mumble, "Especially when its from my secret stash."

"We noticed," the rest of the group deadpanned before returning to their meals.

Dracmon shrugged and said, "Whatever, as long as its food. Can't be that good," he mumbled the last part before taking a bite of ramen. He chewed for a few seconds before his entire frame froze up. "Oh fuck the hell _yes_!" he whispered before tearing into the ramen like a lion rips into a fat gazelle. He then yelped as Matt reached over and slapped him upside the head. "What was that for?!" he asked heatedly.

"Language," Matt said sternly in a disapproving manner.

"Um…Naruto taught me it!" Dracmon quickly passed the buck.

Naruto shortly joined Dracmon in the 'slap upside the head' club. "Traitor," Naruto grumbled.

The rest of the meal was a bit more peaceful than that and soon enough the Digimon were looking ready for bed. However, there was a briefly heated argument between Tai and Matt as Matt heatedly stated that T.K. and Naruto shouldn't be on guard duty and that Tai shouldn't joke around with Gabumon after Tai made a joke about Mimi trying to steal the wolf like mon's coat. Izzy and Joe quickly settled the manner as they all agreed on a watch schedule. Soon, the Digimon and their humans were packed onto the trolley to get some shut-eye. Matt had Gabumon sleep next to T.K. and Naruto to keep the younger boys warm while going outside shortly afterwards.

Suddenly, Naruto got up groggily. "I need to pee," he murmured as he walked outside.

After doing his business (and making sure nobody was looking), Naruto started to head back to the trolley. However, he heard the sound of voices talking. Deciding to check and make sure Matt and Tai weren't going to try and murder each other, Naruto quietly snuck over to the fire where the two boys and Agumon sat. Listening closely, Naruto was able to pick up on their conversation.

"Do you guys even live in the same house?" he heard Tai ask and the whiskered boy mentally winced, knowing that subject was a sore spot for Matt.

"Not anymore," Matt admitted with a surprisingly calm tone. "Our parents separated when we were really little, so I don't get to see him much." He then ran off to the mainland, where he then proceeded to play his harmonica. Gabumon shortly joined him as they sat on the beach with the music being the only sound in the quiet night.

"Matt's a little strange," Tai commented to Agumon as he sat beside his partner by the fire.

"Not really, its just his way of relaxing when he's upset," Naruto's voice sounded behind the two, causing them to jump and spin around in order to see the blonde standing beside them with an oddly melancholy look on his face.

"How long were you standing there?" Tai asked the younger boy suspiciously.

"Long enough to hear Matt apologizing for being such a stuck up," Naruto answered as he joined the two by the fire. When Tai asked what he was doing up, Naruto replied with a shrug, "Couldn't really get to sleep, seems to be a lot of that going around."

Tai chuckled at that and the trio sat in silence for a couple minutes just listening to Matt's harmonica. "I'm sorry that Matt can get a little confrontational," Naruto started.

Tai looked to the younger boy and replied, "It's okay, I have a little sister around both you and T.K.'s age, and if she was here I'd probably act protective as well."

Naruto nodded at that. "While we may only be cousins, Matt's always acted like an older brother to me like he does for T.K. whenever he can. I think he feels its his responsibility to prove himself to the two of us, to himself, that he's worth being called a big brother even though he'd deny it when asked. And even though he can be a pain at times, I'm happy for every moment we can spend together."

Tai hummed before saying, "But you don't seem to listen to him that much."

Naruto snorted, "Please, it's always the younger sibling's job to drive the older crazy. Besides," at this he became somewhat lighter, "With Matt and T.K. trying so hard to impress each other, Matt proving he's a good older brother while T.K. tries to prove he can take care of himself, someone has to be the comic relief!"

The two boys shared a laugh at that while Agumon was only half listening while the rest of him was focused both on the music and keeping his senses alert for danger.

"You seem pretty close to both of them," Tai observed.

Naruto chuckled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, you can kinda thank my mom for that. She wanted me to be close to my family, so she basically told Matt and T.K.'s parents when we were going to hang out, no ifs, ands, or buts. She can be very _persuasive_ when she wants to be," Naruto shivered at this before brightening up once more. "I'm glad she did though, because I enjoy being with both of my cousins."

Unknown to anyone, a lone ember flew from the fire and landed on what looked like a red palm leaf a short way away from the fire. The 'leaf' began to twitch when suddenly, the water beside the island bubbled ominously. Without any warning, a large serpentine form shot out of the water and roared into the sky, alerting and/or waking up the assembled Digimon and their partners. Apparently, the large aquatic Digimon named Seadramon had been asleep with half of its body resting on the island the group was camping on…and apparently it was quite cranky by being waken up via hot ember to the tail. The large sea serpent began to swim away and was pulling the island with it!

"What's going on!" Tai screamed.

"He's pulling us along by his tail! I bet he doesn't even realize we're here," Izzy observed.

And, once again showing the universe loves to mess with people, Seadramon turned its head back towards the island and by extension the people and Digimon on it.

"Dang, should have made a bet on that," Naruto whined but then perked up. "Although…T.K. now owes me two bucks! Ha! Now who says the Lock Ness Monster doesn't exist!" he cheered triumphantly.

"I'm sure you'll make great use of that as fish food!" Joe cried in near hysterics.

With a yank, Seadramon freed its tail from the island and began ramming it from below the surface. Matt and Gabumon jumped into the water from the mainland where they were at when Seadramon attacked and swam out to help save the group. The island was pushed into the middle of the lake where it slammed into several electrical towers before growing still. Several of the Digimon tried to attack the sea monster, but their attacks proved to be ineffective against Seadramon's tough hide. Tai ordered Agumon to Digivolve, but the little dinosaur hadn't fully recovered from the last time he tried.

Matt called out to T.K. as he swam closer to the island and the young boy cried out for his older brother to be careful. The younger of the two should have followed his own advice, and he fell into the water himself when Seadramon rammed the island once more. Gomamon jumped in right after to save T.K. from drowning just as Matt reached their location. However, Seadramon had spotted the brothers at that moment and Matt, being either brave or stupid, used himself as bate to draw the sea dragon away. It became apparent that the water was Seadramon's domain, as it easily reached Matt and bound him in its tail before casually swatting Gabumon away. T.K. was quick to blame himself for his brother's current predicament while the others watched in concern, trying to figure out what to do that wouldn't endanger Matt further.

Gabumon rushed to help his friend and partner once more while Matt's Digivice began to glow. The light engulfed Gabumon and his form began to change.

"Gabumon, Digivolve to…Garurumon!"

Garurumon, a large wolf-like Digimon with steal hard fur darted through the water like a torpedo with claws and teeth. The smaller Champion smashed into Seadramon, forcing it to drop Matt into the water, the boy quickly swimming back to shore as his partner confronted the sea serpent. A fierce battle ensued, with Garurumon swimming circles around the monster who dared to attack his friends. Seadramon finally cornered the wolf Digimon using its icy breath, but Garurumon repelled it with his Howling Blaster. The blue flames were so intense that they drove back Seadramon's attack and exploded right in its face, causing it to sink back into the water. Garurumon shrank back into Gabumon and swam back to shore where he was quickly greeted and complimented by the other Digimon and their partners, making him blush through his fur. T.K. meanwhile was praising Matt, saying how awesome he was risking his life for him. Like his partner, Matt was trying (and failing) to hide his blush.

Looking at the destroyed land bridge and the fact the island was now in the middle of the lake, Joe asked the question that was on everyone else's mind, "So, how are we going to get back to shore?"

Before anyone could answer the constantly anxious boy, Seadramon burst from the water once more with a roar. Smoke was pouring from its damaged mouth and its eyes were bloodshot with rage. The children screamed as Gabumon was now too tired to Digivolve again and they were all basically sitting ducks for the enraged Digimon. Suddenly, Dracmon stepped forward, a disturbingly giddy smile on his face.

"Don't worry guys, I got this!" he assured the group before turning to Seadramon and pointing his hands at the sea serpent. The eyes on the palms of his hands glowed with power as he declared his attack, "Eye of Nightmare!"

Twin beams of energy shot out of the eyes and struck Seadramon right in its eyes. The Champion gave another roar as it reared its head back and shook it around in pain.

"Oh great, now you've just made it madder!" Tai cried in worry.

With a look of concentration on his masked face, Dracmon said, "Just give it a sec, alright? I'm still pretty new at this."

Slowly, Seadramon stopped shaking its head and stared at the group with a blank look in its eyes. Several of the kids and Digimon noticed the dark energy that seemed to cover the eyes like lenses. Adopting his default cheerful look, Dracmon called in a hopeful voice, "Hey, wanna give us a hand…er, fin?"

"Yes, my master," Seadramon said almost robotically much to the groups surprise as it lowered its head and began to push the island back to shore.

Once they safely returned to the mainland, Dracmon cheerfully said, "Thanks for the lift! Now, be a good little Seadramon and go knock yourself out with a boulder, okay?"

"Of course, master," Seadramon nodded before sinking back into the water to accomplish his assigned task of finding a boulder big enough to smash its head against.

Dracmon blew on his eyed palms like smoking barrels and casually said while turning around, "I guess that takes care of that, huh?" Noticing the looks he was being given, he asked innocently, "What?"

"What was that?" Sora asked the question that was on the humans' minds.

Dracmon took a 'lecture' pose and explained, "Well, y'see my Eye of Nightmare has a couple different functions. The first is that it can fire dark energy at my opponent like what I did to Kuwagamon (1). Then there's what you just saw me do, which is a strong form of mind control. If I'm able to hit a target in the eyes that has a weaker will then me, I'm able to make them do pretty much whatever I ask. Of course, the stronger the will the less I can make them do."

"Wait, you mean the eyes on your hands can hypnotize people?" Izzy asked.

Dracmon tilted his head in confusion at the redhead's question and questioned, "Hypnotize? What's that?" he then shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Basically what I do is give 'em a mind freak. Mostly its through the use of their nightmares that they have subconsciously in their mind. I can even manipulate their dreams in a way with this and change their nightmare from 'wake up in a cold sweat' to 'crap your pants' scary."

The group processed this for a second before Naruto got in front of his partner with stars in his eyes. "That is so COOL Dracmon! Oh, do you think you can make us do impressions? Do me! Do me!" he was practically hopping up in down in excitement.

"I really don't think this is the time for-" Joe began before witnessing the interesting site of Naruto pulling his shirt over his head before doing the chicken dance after looking straight into Dracmon's hand eyes. This gave everyone a good laugh after the stressful day they had, and were able to go to sleep in good spirits with Matt gently playing the harmonica as a soothing lullaby.

 **The Next Day**

"Tell me again whose idea it was to go walking into a freaking desert?!" Naruto grumbled as he walked with the group through what appeared to be an endless wasteland.

Honestly, Naruto was beginning to see some major flaws in the leadership of the children; namely that it lacked common sense. Heck, he was one of the younger kids and even he knew you had to pack the essentials before backpacking in any extreme conditions. Granted, they didn't exactly have a military surplus store where they could stock up on canteens, hiking gear and the like, but some forethought on that might have been nice. Then there was the fact that before now the group had encountered what looked like flying gears and signs more confusing than the ones used by Wil E. Coyote. In all, it was enough to even sour the hyperactive blonde's mood. Mimi's nonstop tirade of complaints didn't help.

"Come on guys, we're bound to reach civilization soon!" Tai encouraged the group.

"That's what you said an hour ago!" Matt snapped.

"Hey, does anyone else smell something burning?" Dracmon asked randomly.

Everyone turned to the Undead Digimon and saw that his entire body was smoking slightly…right before it burst into flames.

"AAAAHHHH! PUT IT OUT, PUT IT OUT, PUT IT OUT!" Dracmon screeched in fear as he began rolling frantically in the sand as the kids and their 'Mons rushed forward to help. Fortunately, the whiskered eight year old had a solution to the problem that he had up his sleeve, or more precisely in his backpack. Rushing forward, Naruto pulled out a fire extinguisher of all things and sprayed the flaming Digimon out.

"Aaaahhh~," Dracmon sighed in relief, slightly crispy around the edges but otherwise unharmed. Smiling, he looked up to his partner and said, "Thanks Nar!"

"No problem. Why'd you burst into flames like that anyway? I mean, I always thought spontaneous combustion was just an old wives tale."

"It's quite simple really," the ever knowledgeable Tentomon explained as he buzzed forward. "Dracmon is an Undead Digimon that normally frequent dark places in the Digital World. While they can handle a decent amount of sunlight, too much and you get the worst case of sunburn ever!"

"Why didn't you mention anything Dracmon?" Sora asked in her 'mother hen' voice. "We could have tried a different route with more shadows or built you some makeshift umbrella you could have used to protect yourself."

"Eh, didn't think it was that big of a deal at the time," Dracmon replied with a shrug of the shoulders.

'He nearly burns to ash and he says its "not a big deal?"' the majority of the group wonders.

"Never fear, Naruto is here!" said blonde exclaimed dramatically, pulling out a decent sized umbrella from his backpack.

Izzy, the ever logical member of the group, finally found his tolerance for the blonde boy's complete defiance for the laws of physics finally snaps, "How in the world do you have all those items in your backpack?! The dimensions of the bag compared to the size and amount of items you pull from there are completely illogical!"

"You know what logic is?" Naruto shot back with a grin, "An excuse for people with no imagination!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" Izzy cried in frustration.

Matt put a comforting hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "You shouldn't question it," he said patiently, knowing where the computer nerd was coming from. "I've known Naruto pretty much since the day he was born, and he seems to follow his own set of rules when it comes to reality."

With that deviation from canon done, the group pressed onward through the desert with Dracmon now carrying an umbrella to shade himself from the harsh sun. Soon he was joined by Gabumon whose fur coat wasn't doing him any favors in the heat. After Izzy did a quick scientific study of the area to conclude that it was really, really, hot, the group decided to take a small break to gather their strength.

"Listen, I know I'm just a little kid and everything compared to the rest of you and that my opinion probably doesn't mean jack, but we really need to get some water soon before we become buzzard, or Buzzardmon or whatever, food," Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, I am getting thirsty Matt," T.K. pointed out to his older brother.

"Well, I'm going to die in a desert. Just like that old gypsy woman said," Joe bemoaned.

"Really? An old gypsy woman said you were going to die in a desert?" Sora asked skeptically.

"Well, technically she said dessert but I think the intent was clear," Joe defended.

"All I know is that I want a cold drink, preferably in a place with AC!" Mimi whined.

"We'll get right on that," Tai sarcastically replied as he looked around the area with his mini spyglass. "Just then he spotted something. "Oh hey look, cactuses!"

"It's actually pronounced cacti in the plural form," Izzy corrected.

"Hey, I read somewhere that cactus plants have water in them! C'mon Dracmon, let's go check it out!" Naruto said before leaping to his feet and running to where Tai was pointing, Dracmon close behind.

"Naruto, be careful!" Matt cautioned his younger cousin as he went to follow after the smaller boy.

When the group reached the cacti patch, Naruto was already digging into his pack for something to pull the water out of them with. "C'mon, I know its here somewhere…" Naruto mumbled as he rummaged through the bag.

"What are you looking for Na…ruto?" Joe trailed off as the whiskered boy pulled a chainsaw out of his bag. "WHAT THE CRAP?!"

Naruto revved the motorized cutting tool and quickly cut into the cactus. Soon enough, water was leaking from the gash. "Now hold on, I think we need to test it or something before one of us," Joe started before both Naruto and Dracmon glomped their mouths to the liquid like leeches. "…drinks out of them," Joe finished with a sigh.

After draining the cactus of liquid, the two partners gave satisfied sighs before letting out twin belches, much to Mimi's disgust. "Man that felt good!" Naruto said with a laugh.

"Are you going to be alright?" Sora asked, worried that drinking cactus juice raw might not have been the smartest of decisions.

"Oh we're just fine," he replied before letting out a hiccup that caused a blush to form on his face as his eyes became unfocused.

"Yeah, quit worry-HIC!" Dracmon started before he too hiccupped and gained a blush on the parts of his face visible beneath his hood.

"Umm, Naruto? Dracmon?" Tai asked in concern at the dazed look the duo was sporting.

Dracmon started giggling in a disturbing manner and began humming 'Baby Got Back' to himself. Naruto meanwhile was squinting at Tai and said in a slurred voice, "Heeeyyy, aren't you Spike from Cowboy Bebop (2)?" Before Tai could answer the bizzare question, Naruto suddenly grasped the front of the older boy's shirt while crying anime tears. "YOU BASTARD!" He shouted, "Wh-Why'd yah have tah die in the end?! And making it look so cool too, dammit!" he then sobbed into Tai's shirt, "Y-you made anime a legend, ya'know?"

Tai looked desperately to the other kids and mouthed 'Help me!' Dracmon then shouted out randomly while pointing at the cactus Naruto and he had drank from, "Drink cactus juice! It'll quench yah! It's the quenchiest!"

"Is anyone else getting freaked out or is it just me?" Joe questioned uneasily.

"It's not just you," Gomamon assured his partner as he stared and the strangely acting duo.

"Look ma! I can fly!" Naruto shouted while flapping his arms and jumping up and down.

"Duuude~! I have eyes…on my hands!" Dracmon breathed while staring at the eyes on his palms.

"I do believe there must be some sort of narcotic effect in the cactus juice," Izzy deduced as he observed the little bit of liquid still inside the plant Naruto and Dracmon were using as a fountain.

Palmon went up and put one of her hands on the cactus for a minute and seemed to be concentrating. When she was done, the plant Digimon seemed to pale a bit, an impressive feat considering she was, well, a plant. "Oohhh boy." She murmured.

"What is it?" Agumon asked her.

"Well, I was just able to get a read on the cactus these two drank out of. Apparently, its full of Crazy Juice (3)," she informed him.

"Well that's not good," Patamon said worriedly.

"I'm guessing from the name it makes people act crazy?" T.K. questioned.

"Not just act crazy, but get crazier as time goes on!" Biyomon explained. "Soon they'll be more nutty then peanuts unless we get them an antidote!"

"You mean they aren't already there?" Gomamon snarked, only to balk as Dracmon suddenly got into his face.

"I wanna do a skit. I'll play a group of drunken sailors, and you're a baby seal!" Dracmon said with a maniacal grin on his face.

"Uh-oh," Gomamon gulped before backpedaling as fast as his flipper like limbs allowed him.

"Come back here baby seal!" Dracmon laughed as he pulled a giant mallet out of nowhere and gave chase.

Fortunately for everyone there, Palmon reacted quickly and used her Poison Ivy to wrap up the intoxicated Digimon. "Hey, no fair!" he pouted as he struggled against the vines. He then turned to Palmon and said in a chipper tone, "Alright, we'll call it a draw!"

"Good job Palmon!" Mimi congratulated her partner. She then looked around in concern, "Um, where's Naruto?"

"I'm over here!" the young blonde's voice shouted out and the group turned to see him attempting to swim in the sand. "I have finally realized my lifelong dream! Swimming in a pool full of ramen!" he cheered before taking up a mouthful of sand in his mouth and chewing happily. This lasted about two seconds longer than it should have before he adopted a look of disgust and spit the sand out of his mouth. "YUCK! Tastes like sand!" he then gained a scandalized look on his face and, getting down on his knees shouted to the air, "NOOO! RAMEN HAS BETRAYED ME! Sacrilege, blasphemy! THE RAMEN IS A LIE!"

He continued to rant as Palmon also roped him up in her vines and the rest of the group made a litter out of some driftwood and straps they found in Naruto's bag (why he had this, no one wanted to know). They then proceeded to carry the two struggling and intoxicated partners away.

 **(Several Hours Later)**

"Ugh, my head," Naruto groaned as he sat up. "It's worse than the time Jiraiya gave me that glass of sake to try!"

"BLAUGH!" was Dracmon's response as he leaned away from the futon the two found themselves on and vomited heavily onto the floor.

"Oh, dude, come on!" Naruto cried in disgust.

"Oh good, you're awake!" a young girl's voice chimed happily. The two looked to the door and found a Yokomon beaming up at them. "I'll go let your friends know!" she chirped as she ran out the door. This left a groaning boy and a dry heaving Digimon in the hut.

"Do you remember what happened?" Naruto asked as he tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

Wiping off his mouth with the back of his hand, Dracmon groaned, "All I remember is something about a desert and some cacti."

"Well, I hope you two learned something from this," Matt said as he stepped into the hut followed shortly by Gabumon and the others.

"Yeah, never be dumb enough to follow a group into a desert without water," Naruto replied before gaining a sheepish expression at his older cousin's look. "…And maybe to wait and see if something is safe to eat or drink before sucking up as much as you can?"

Matt was about to sharply retort when Gabumon laid a calming hand on his shoulder and said, "I think that's the best we can expect."

T.K. then added, "I'm just glad you and Dracmon are okay, cuz!"

"Thanks," Naruto nodded in understanding. Turning to the rest of the group, he said, "What'd I miss?"

"And why do you look like you just fought a living flamethrower?" Dracmon asked as he pointed to Biyomon's slightly singed feathers.

The group then took turns telling the two of the events that had occurred while they were 'incapacitated'. After walking for a few more minutes into the desert, the group stumbled upon a village of Yokomon, Biyomon's In-Training form. Fortunately, the friendly Digimon had an antidote for Naruto and Dracmon while offering the DigiDestined a place to rest. However, soon after they arrived, the water in the village evaporated and the well actually erupted in lava. They soon found out that the sudden drought was caused by Meramon, a normally peaceful fire Digimon who lives on the mountain overlooking the village (and was a literal living flamethrower). Apparently something caused the Champion to go insane as he charged at the village while screaming in pain while burning everything in his path.

Seeing the potential danger, everyone runs to the now dried out lake to get to safety, with Matt and Gabumon carrying the still out cold and hallucinating Naruto and Dracmon respectively. Sora and Biyomon, however, stayed behind to make sure all the Yokomon get out safely. Meramon attacks, and both Biyomon and Sora try to hold him off. However, the bird Rookie wasn't able to do enough damage to the flaming Digimon and he goes to attack her friends. In her desperation, Biyomon was able to Digivolve into her Champion form of Birdramon and was able to fight Meramon on more even ground. During the fight, Birdramon was able to get in a good hit on Meramon and caused the reason behind his apparent insanity, a black gear, to go flying out of his back and be destroyed. Meramon, no longer crazy, apologized for his actions and explained that he had no real memory of what happened after the black gear hit him in the back. He then went back to his mountain home and that brings us back to the present.

Naruto whistles, "Man, sounds like we missed a heck of a party!"

"Wait, there's a party? Will there be cake and ice cream?" Dracmon asked and, noticing the stares he was getting rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Sorry, I don't think the cactus juice is out of my system completely yet."

"Actually," one of the Yokomon piped up as she peered into the hut, "we're going to be holding a dinner for all of you in thanks for helping our village, so I guess you can say the party is still going on!"

Matt groaned and put his face in his hands, moaning, "Oh great, now you've done it."

"Matt, what's-?" Gabumon started before there was a loud horn blast. Turning, the group stared in bewilderment as Naruto was now decked out in party gear, including an air horn, googly eye glasses, a spinning necktie, and a rubber chicken. Dracmon was dressed similarly with a large clown wig and two cans of crazy string in his hands, along with a 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' t-shirt.

"WOO-HOO! PARTY!" The two partners cheered in unison, earning a sweatdrop from everyone.

The 'party' wasn't as extravagant as the two rambunctious partners were hoping for, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless. Both Naruto and Dracmon entertained the Yokomon with Dracmon hypnotizing Naruto to do increasingly ridiculous stunts, from racing around the village on only his hands to belching out the alphabet. Naruto himself would reenact some of his pranking exploits using various members of the group in a slapstick routine, whether willingly or unwillingly. Then came the food, which turned out to be some kind of seeds. The Digimon seemed to enjoy it but a majority of the humans were reluctant.

"We have more than enough for seconds," Biyomon informed the group cheerfully.

"Yeah, well, there's probably a good reason for that," Joe commented cynically.

"Has anybody noticed, we talk a lot about food?" Matt observed.

"Seconds please!" Dracmon asked eagerly, holding up his empty bowel.

Naruto, after literally shoving his face into his bowel of seeds, came up for air to show he was finished as well with a big grin on his whiskered face. "Ditto!" he chimed, holding up his bowel.

"Uh, I'm not hungry anymore," Sora stated while pushing her bowel away looking slightly green.

"I'm skipping this one too," Joe agreed as he also pushed his bowel away. "I just don't like to eat on an empty stomach. Besides, I don't even know what this stuff is, but I'm sure I'm allergic to it!"

No sooner had they finished saying that then the whiskered blonde and the Virus Digimon snatched up the bowels and eagerly dug in. Once finished, they let out matching belches.

"Ew, that's disgusting!" Mimi wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to burp like that Naruto?!"

"Actually, she's the one who taught me to burp like that," Naruto stated proudly while puffing out his chest. "My mom's awesome like that."

Soon enough, it was time for the group to head out. After making sure Dracmon had his umbrella least he becomes a slice of extra crispy bacon, the DigiDestined and their Digimon waved goodbye to the Yokomon Village as they headed towards their next adventure. What will our heroes face next?

1\. I know this isn't in the Eye of Nightmare's description on the Wiki page, but I figured it'd make sense to give Dracmon a long range attack. Plus, the rules of the anime are never as absolute as they describe them on webpages.

2\. It was pointed out in one of the Digimon stories I read that Tai looks like a younger version of Spike from Cowboy Bebop, and I thought it'd be funny to add that in.

3\. The Digital World has mushrooms that make you lose your memory and apples made of meat. I think having cacti full of hallucinogenic water is the most believable out of all three.

 **0 Jordio 0** : First of all, I wish to thank you for not leaving a total biting comment on this story like I know you tend to leave for most stories. That said, I'm not sure what you mean about changing the past and present tense since I try to remain consistent unless it involves character dialogue. If you want, would you care to beta this story to make sure I'm not making any grammatical mistakes? Now as for the last chapter, yes it may seem a little rushed, but that is because I was trying to introduce the concept of my story first so that the readers can see what Naruto's role in this story will be, what his personality will be like, who his partner is, etc. while still trying to show that the other DigiDestined will remain important members of the story without just fading into the background like most Fanfics tend to do. Trust me, Naruto and Dracmon are definitely going to have their moments to shine, particularly when they're separated from the group. Now as for the Digivolutions, I won't say anything to avoid spoilers but please know that I do have a plan for it and it will be hopefully amazing.

 **AN:** So here we are again! Now I know a lot of you probably want to see more of my other stories and I beg you to be patient with me. My muse has been on a roll with this story and I'd like to get one more chapter of this as well as a couple challenges posted before returning to my other stories. Add to the fact that my new job has me working from 9 in the morning until 6 in the evening, tends to burn me out for writing, so updates may be slow in coming. Also, I've been helping several other writers with their stories, so I've been one busy boy! I do plan on updating each and every one of my main stories, but again I ask that you have patience with me.

Now, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been trying to get two episodes of Digimon per chapter. With luck, I might be able to get in both season 1 and 2 in a little over 50 chapters. Fingers crossed! I've also decided that for this story, I'm going to make a decent amount of references in this story. Major brownie points to whoever finds them all! I hope you all enjoyed the wackiness I've done with this story, but don't worry there will be plenty more action in the future! In the meantime, READ, REVIEW, and ENJOY!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Last time I'll say this for this story is that I do not own the categories that go into it. I do, however, own this idea of meshing them all together. It's mine, MINE I TELL YOU!

 **Naruto: Jeeze, ego trip much?**

 **Mellra: Oh shush you. Without me, where would you and Dracmon be at?**

 **Dracmon: Multimillion dollar genres with numerous DVDs, toys, video games, clothes, and fanfictions to our names?**

 **Mellra: …I hate you. Hate you both.**

 **Naruto: Oh c'mon mellra! You know you've wanted to write a story like this ever since you discovered this category on this site.**

 **Dracmon: Yeah! So smile buddy, we're all your dreams coming true in your sad, pathetic little life.**

 **Mellra: Thanks, please excuse me as I go curl up on my bathroom floor and cry a little now.**

 **Naruto: Cheer up! With the responses you've received so far, it looks like me and Dracmon are sticking around for a while provided you keep getting comments in the affirmative.**

 **Mellra: Yeah? Well keep it up and I'll have the two of you sucking cactus juice again!**

 **Dracmon: I've been meaning to ask you about that. What the shit, dude? You totally are just ripping off our comedy shticks from other fandoms and meshing them together! Try being original, dammit!**

 **Mellra: Tell that to the millions of writers on this site who do the exact same thing. Besides, you know how hard it is to find original humor these days? Would you prefer I make you as bland and as tasteless as Donald Trump? (Puts on bullet proof vest and riot shield to hide from fanatical Republicans) What? It's the truth!**

 **Naruto: Okay, moving along before this becomes a huge ass political debate.**

 **Dracmon: Yeah, sooner we get this chapter done, the sooner we get to my Digivolving and strutting my stuff in –**

 **Mellra: Don't say how many chapters are left before that! I want to give the readers some sense of surprise!**

 **All: Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3: Robots and Toys and Digimon, Oh My!**

"I'm so tired!" Mimi whined as she collapsed onto her knees. Gomamon, Palmon, and T.K. weren't looking much better as they too collapsed to the ground.

"I guess we should take a break," Matt suggested and the others agreed.

"Don't know what you guys are complaining about," Naruto commented as he walked by on his hands.

"Yeah, this is pretty much a cakewalk to that desert. Mmm, cake," Dracmon added as he did a handstand on Naruto's feet, drooling a bit at the last comment that Naruto expertly avoided his head.

"How do they have so much energy?" Sora murmured as she sat down.

"My dad says Naruto's mom drank a pot of coffee a day when she was pregnant with him. She'd then add a bag of sugar to said coffee." Matt supplied as he sat down beside his brother.

"And Dracmon's always been like this since he hatched," Palmon added helpfully.

"We think he was born with limitless energy," Agumon nodded his head in agreement.

"Made trying to go to sleep a difficult task more than one night," Gabumon finished with a slightly resentful tone.

"Anyway, I guess there's no reason to hurry," Tai commented as he joined the others in their rest, sans Naruto and Dracmon who were attempting to form a two person/mon pyramid.

Matt then nodded his head towards Izzy who was currently working on his laptop. "Check out Izzy. I bet he's trying to email the aliens," he joked, referring to the redheaded boy's theory that they were abducted by aliens.

"Maybe he's asking them to beam him up!" Tai cracked.

"Silly Tai, that was Scotty's job!" Naruto exclaimed from his position in the now collapsed pyramid of him and Dracmon. Seeing the others give him a look, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "What? My mom likes to watch Star Trek sometimes and I sometimes watch it with her. Sue me."

Izzy sighed as he failed to get a signal once more. "Still crashed and the warranty has expired!" he complained.

Tai then, unhelpfully, tries smacking the laptop around to get it working to which Izzy frantically grabs it back from him while asking the taller boy if his brain cells were malfunctioning. Naruto, seeing the commotion then walks over with Dracmon deciding to work on his cartwheels where they were. Reaching the older boy, Naruto asks, "Hey Izzy, mind if I give it a shot?"

Izzy looked dubious on having the young, hyperactive goofball of the group messing around with his laptop. "You're not going to smack it around, are you?" he asked, figuring he'd at least humor the younger boy.

Naruto snorted, "Please, only a complete moron thinks that stuff works."

Said moron, who was investigating some smoke he saw in the distance with Agumon, gave a sneeze at the comment. Thinking that the laptop couldn't get any more crashed then it already was, Izzy handed the computer over to the whiskered boy while keeping an eye out if he tried anything funny with it. Said boy then began typing commands on the keypad.

"While I appreciate the effort, Naruto, I've been working on that computer for a while now and I don't think that –" Izzy began before Naruto then shoved the laptop back into his hands.

"Done," the blonde said simply as he walked away while whistling a jaunty tune with his hands behind his head.

Incredulously, Izzy looked at his screen and was shocked beyond words to see that everything was in perfect working order. "Wha-? But I-? How-?" he stammered before shaking his head and asking the retreating blonde, "How'd you do that?"

Before Naruto could answer, Tai called over to the group, "Hey everybody, come over here quick!"

The group made some impressive hustling time as they went over to their fearless leader's position to see him and Agumon were staring out into the distance at what became the outline of a large factory the closer they got to them. The smoke Tai spotted earlier was coming from several of the smokestacks that jutted up from it. Thinking that there might be people operating the factory, the group decided to go down and see if they could find some help. However, the factory seemed to be deserted the longer they explored it. Given the size of the factory, the sheer emptiness of it all gave them all slight chills. Despite there being no one in sight, the machines in the factory seemed to be operating flawlessly, though what they were operating for was a big question for the group as the assembly line seemed to be putting together machines no one recognized.

Deciding that they'd cover more ground if they split up, the children and their partners went into two groups. Naruto and Dracmon left with Tai, Sora, Joe and their respective Digimon while the others went into a separate part of the factory. After wandering around for several minutes, Agumon pointed into a room where a figure was lying under a pile of machinery. Going to investigate, the team found that the figure was a Digimon by the name of Andromon, a high level Digimon who was part organic and part machine. Said Digimon seemed to be out cold under a pile of gears. While Joe was hesitant about approaching the machine based Digimon, the others in the group agreed that they should help the mon out.

"We should be careful though," Naruto noted as he observed the pile of gears on top of Andromon. "As far as we know, moving him could cause the gears to shift around and crush his legs, or worse cause the pile to topple over and crush us!"

"Jeeze Naruto, and I thought Joe was the paranoid one," Gomamon joked, earning an indignant 'Hey!' from his partner.

Naruto shook his head at that, "My grandma's a medic and she always warns me about situations like this. That's why, no matter how crazy my pranks get, I always make sure to be careful not to go too far and hurt somebody. She told me that for cases like Andromon's, the most important thing to remember is to be mindful of the surroundings. She also said that while someone pulls the trapped person out, another person should try to keep leverage on the thing keeping the person trapped to make sure it doesn't end up crushing the person." He then looked around briefly before spying a loose piece of metal pipe nearby. "This should do it," he nodded as he picked the pipe up.

Working together, with Naruto and Dracmon providing the leverage while the others pulled, they slowly edged Andromon out of his prison. However, Tai pulled a bit too hard and slipped, causing him to accidentally crash into a nearby switch. Suddenly, the gears above Andromon started to move, and this allowed the Digimon to loosen enough that it was easy to pull him out. Just as they were about to completely release him, Dracmon thought he saw something fall into Andromon's leg out of the corner of his eye, but couldn't quite tell because of how shadowy the area was. The group cheered as they finally got the Digimon out, and Andromon made some groaning sounds to indicate he was coming to.

Tai, being bullheaded as always, thought he'd give Andromon a 'kick start' by slapping him like an old TV, but Sora and Joe stopped him. This didn't stop Agumon though, as he picked up some of his partner's habits and slapped the android Digimon on the head with his claw. Surprisingly enough, Andromon seemed to 'wake up' from the hit, but it seemed like he wasn't one for rude awakenings as he grabbed Sora by the leg and dangled her in the air as he got up.

"I shall punish all intruders!" he said in a robotic voice.

The Rookies wasted no time attacking the hostile Digimon. Biyomon sent her Spiral Twister at the android's back, causing him to grunt in irritation and throw Sora into the air, where she was caught by Tai and Agumon. His attention on the two humans and their Digimon, Naruto decided to do what he does best: distraction. Taking the piece of pipe from earlier, he chucked it at Andromon's head causing the Digimon to turn his glowing blue eyes on the blonde boy.

"Over here, you Terminator reject!" Naruto taunted as he pulled down an eyelid and blew a raspberry at the Ultimate.

Andromon growled and began to advance on the boy, but a grinning Dracmon then leapt to at his face with his hands held out. "Eye of Nightmare!" the undead Digimon cried as dark energy shot from his palm eyes and into Andromon's own eyes.

The Ultimate grunted as he stepped back, his eyes seeming to flicker between dark energy and their glowing blue before finally settling on the blue color. Dracmon frowned when he saw this and stared at his palms. "Huh, that's something different."

Before Andromon could attack the young DigiDestined and Rookie, Tai instructed Agumon to fire his Pepper Breath at the ceiling where a group of steel beams were being held up by cables. The fire attack melted the cables and caused the beams to fall on top of Andromon, pinning him to the ground. Not wanting to wait to see if the robot would manage to get out of his predicament, the team ran out of the room. What they weren't aware of was that Naruto and Dracmon, due to being in the back of the group, turned right at a fork in the road while the others turned left. The two partners ran for several minutes before noticing that they couldn't see the rest of the group.

"Uh, I don't suppose you saw where the others went, did you?" Naruto asked Dracmon hesitantly.

"I was following you," Dracmon shrugged.

"Huh, well I guess we got separated. This sucks," Naruto mused. Suddenly, the lights of the factory went out. "…This sucks even more. Man, if somebody asked on how this could get any worse, I'm going to introduce my foot to their face!" He then began to stumble his way through the dark. "Dracmon? You still with me buddy?"

A clawed hand grabbed his and Dracmon's cheerful voice greeted his ears. "Yeah, and you should probably stick close to me because, unlike you, I can see in the dark."

"Not true, I can see in the dark. I see a whole lot of dark," Naruto replied sarcastically as the two made their way further and further into the factory. Suddenly, the floor under their feet gave way, causing them to scream as they fell in complete darkness. When they landed none too gently on their bottoms, the two groaned for a moment before taking in their surroundings.

"Where are we?" Naruto wondered as he looked around the crate filled room.

"I do believe we are in some sort of storage facility, my dear Naruto," Dracmon deduced while blowing on a bubble pipe he snagged from Naruto's bag.

Turning to his partner, Naruto asked, "How do you figure?"

"Elementary. You'll notice that unlike most of the rest of the factory, this room is filled to the brim with crates and the like. Then there is the fact that most of this stuff hasn't been used for quite some time, based on the dust accumulated on them. Finally, it says storage on that sign over there." Dracmon explained.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the last comment before starting to navigate around the crates. "C'mon, we better find the others before we end up trapped in this nightmare factory."

The two ducked and weaved between the boxes until they came upon what appeared to be another assembly line, but this one had humanoid shaped beings on them. When inspecting them further, Naruto asked hesitantly, "Hey, Dracmon. Are these guys…Digimon?" He then gently poked one of the robotic looking beings before jerking his head back to see if there was a reaction. There was none.

"Yeah, those guys are Mechanorimon. While they're machine Digimon like Andromon, these guys are more like robotic suits other Digimon can wear to do tasks they'd normally be unable to accomplish," Dracmon explained.

"Are you telling me," Naruto asked lowly before turning to Dracmon with stars in his eyes. "That these guys are basically Gundam?!"

Dracmon looked confused at the question before saying, "I…have no idea what those are. Like I said though, these guys are basically robotic armor that smaller Digimon can wear." He then clutched his ears as Naruto let out a squeal that would rival most pigs. "What?!" he asked, wondering what got his partner so excited.

Instead of answering, Naruto ran over to stand on top of one empty Mechanorimon. "Today, I live the dream of eight year old boys everywhere," Naruto declared proudly before pointing at the mechanical suit. "I'm going to get into this robot, and I'm going to drive it around like a BOSS!" he finished giddily.

Dracmon shared his partner's grin and exclaimed, "Dude, count me in!"

The two quickly found the entrance hatch to the machine Digimon and climbed in. "So many buttons!" Naruto commented giddily.

"Which ones should we press?" Dracmon asked, practically drooling over the many flashing lights and buttons.

Naruto gave a dangerous grin as he proclaimed, "ALL of them!"

Meanwhile with the other DigiDestined, the two groups had met up only to be attacked by Andromon once again. Both Gabumon and Agumon Digivolved into Garurumon and Greymon respectively, but even two Champions working together couldn't bring down the powerful Ultimate. Just as Andromon was about to land a finishing blow on the pair, he was struck in the back by twin lazers. The group turned to the source of the beam attack and saw a lumbering metal Digimon heading their way.

"Who's that?" Matt asked.

"That's Mekanorimon! Their usually mindless Digimon piloted by smaller, weaker Digimon," Palmon explained as she stood protectively by Mimi.

"Question is, is it a friend or just have terrible aim?" Tai asked.

Suddenly, the top hatch of the mechanical Digimon popped open and both Naruto and Dracmon stuck their heads out to grin coly at the group. "Come with me if you want to live!" Naruto ordered in a thick Austrian accent.

"NARUTO?!" the older kids gapped at the younger DigiDestined.

Meanwhile, T.K. had stars in his eyes as he stared at his cousin. "So jealous!" he whispered to Patamon, envious that the whiskered boy had managed to live the dream first.

Before the group could comment on why in the world Naruto and Dracmon were going around in a giant mech suit, Andromon recovered from their sneak attack and was advancing on them menacingly. "New targets detected! Must eliminate!" he said in a monotone.

Both Naruto and Dracmon got back into the Mekanorimon despite Matt's protests, but Dracmon took this opportunity to say to his friends in a similar accent, "We'll be back."

The two robot Digimon started to clash, metal limbs struggling against metal limbs. The driven Mekanorimon fired another Twin Beam point blank at Andromon's chest, but it turns out the android had a much stronger frontal defense than his back did, as he barely flinched from the attack. Instead, his chest opened up to reveal his missiles. "Open Fire!" he ordered, causing the explosives to ram right into the Mekanorimon and drive it across the room before detonating.

The kids gave a panicked cry, thinking two of their youngest members were just blasted into atoms. However, out of the smoke the Mekanorimon blasted forward from the rockets built into its back and shoulder tackled Andromon out of the way. "Go Naruto!" T.K. cheered while Patamon cheered for Dracmon.

"Kick his metal butt back to the scrapheap!" Tai cheered as well.

So caught up in the drool worthy robot fight that they missed Izzy tapping furiously at his computer and that Tentomon was slowly glowing brighter with each button pressed. As this was happening, the Mekanorimon trapped Andromon in a Full Nelson that prevented the android from moving almost all of his body. However, his head was still free and he used that to slam in a reverse headbutt on the Mekanorimon's face, forcing it to release its hold and stumble backwards. Andromon's hand began to spin at an alarming rate until it became a metal drill with electrical sparks shooting from it. "Lightning Blade…Fire!" he roared as he sent an arc of sharpened electricity at the piloted Digimon.

The two amateur mecha pilots were able to sidestep in time, but not before the blade was able to slice the Mekanorimon's right arm clean off. Before the fight could continue, a large light caught everyone's attention.

"Tentomon, Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!" was the roar from within the light. Once it faded, a large blue and grey insect Digimon now stood in its place.

"Prodigious! It worked!" Izzy cheered as his now Digivolved partner stepped up to the battlefield.

Andromon, seeing as both Greymon and Garurumon were down for the count and the Mekanorimon wouldn't be of much use with the damage it sustained from their fight, decided to focus on this new challenger. Kabuterimon proved to be a harder opponent as his nimble insect wings allowed him to duck and weave between all of the android's attacks. And any that did land did minimal damage thanks to Kabuterimon's armored exoskeleton. While observing the fighting Digimon, Izzy was able to determine Andromon's literal Achilles heel: his organic right leg which he seemed to favor and was randomly sparking.

"Kabuterimon! Aim for his right leg, it's his weak point!" Izzy instructed.

Kabuterimon nodded in the affirmative as he prepared a large ball of electricity in his four arms. "Electro Shocker!" he called as he fired the ball at Andromon.

The android, due to his damage and fatigue from his earlier fights, was unable to move away in time and the attack struck his leg, causing him to cry out in pain. The leg sparked some more before a black gear shot out of the leg, flying up into the air and disintegrating into data. Afterwards, Andromon collapsed onto his knees as his glowing blue eyes faded into a less possessed looking brown. Seeing that the battle was over, Kabuterimon shrank back into Tentomon as the group went to go check on the Ultimate while Naruto and Dracmon got out of their damaged ride and went to join them.

Once everything had settled down, Andromon formally apologized, saying that he wasn't a violent Digimon by nature. "That Black Gear got inside of me and rewrote all of my systems," he explained.

"Oh, so that would explain it," Dracmon said with a nod of his head, gaining everyone's attention.

"Explain what?" Sora asked.

"Back when Andromon first attacked us, I tried to use my Eye of Nightmare on him but he shook it off like it was nothing. Normally that would mean that his willpower was stronger than mine, but the way it felt was off. Like something else was preventing me from entering his mind, or he was already possessed," the undead Digimon explained.

The others nodded in thoughtful understanding, wondering just where these black gears came from as they remembered another one had caused Meramon to go crazy back at the Yokomon village. After the kids accepted Andromon's apology, Matt went over and smacked his younger cousin and his partner over the head, causing them to yelp.

"Ow! Matt, what the shit?" Naruto grumbled only to get another smack for his mouth.

"What in the world were you thinking, Naruto?! You and Dracmon could have been killed in that stunt you pulled!" Matt chided the younger boy.

"Well at least we would have died living the dream," Naruto grumbled under his breath before saying aloud, "I don't know what you're so worked up about Matt. The two of us were 100…" the Mechanorimon's body fell into pieces at this exact moment causing Naruto to correct himself, "…90…" the Mechanorimon's parts caught aflame, "…80…" they then exploded, "…70 percent certain we would be A okay."

"And I suppose that makes it better?" Matt asked rhetorically while crossing his arms and giving the younger boy his best 'big brother disapproval' look.

"Doesn't it?" Naruto and Dracmon asked innocently, complete with little halos.

Matt sighed and said, "Just…please try to be more careful. Your mother would skin me alive if anything happened to you."

Naruto agreed, "Don't worry Matt, mom always says if I get hurt pulling a stupid stunt then its my own damn fault, so she wouldn't hold it against you. But yeah, I'll try to be more careful." He then turned to the smoldering remains of his robot suit. "Alas, poor Mechanorimon! I knew him, Dracmon," the blonde boy sighed dejectedly.

Dracmon just settled for playing taps on a bugle he pulled from Naruto's bag. The others sweatdropped at the partners' antics and settled for listening to Andromon's explanation on how to leave the factory…that lead to them walking through a sewer system, much to Mimi and Joe's dismay.

The first part of the trip was largely uneventful save for Izzy trying to use the same coding he used on Tentomon to try and Digivolve Patamon at T.K.'s request, but the program shorted out before it could be completed. Tai and Agumon tried to be helpful by giving the laptop a love tap, but Izzy moved the computer out of the way in time resulting the two smacking each other in the face, much to everyone's amusement. Before they continued, Izzy asked Naruto something that had been bothering him since that morning but was unable to ask.

"Naruto?" he began hesitantly.

"Yeah, Izzy?" Naruto asked while walking backwards on the edge of the sewer water.

"I was wondering…before we found this factory, you were able to somehow get my computer to start working again. I was just wondering how you did that when nothing I tried worked?" he questioned, the others listening in in curiosity save for T.K. and Matt who knew the answer.

"Oh, that's easy! I learned a similar programming in my Advance Computer's class!" he responded in a chipper tone.

"Well I guess that makes-" Izzy was cut off as he started choking on his own saliva when what Naruto just said truly hit him.

'Advanced Computer's class?!' most of the other DigiDestined thought as well, not being able to comprehend how Naruto; prank loving, hyperactive, probable ADD, goofball; could be considered an advanced anything in school. They could only stop and stare at the happily whistling boy as he continued his backwards trek down the sewer before finally snapping out of it, picking their jaws off the floor, and hurrying after the blonde with more questions than answers.

The gang was continuing their trek down the sewers from Andromon's factory and, in order to pass the time, they decided to try their hand at song. After a rather humorous attempt at singing from the other Digimon and Mimi (who like most valley girls thought she could sing, but actually couldn't), it was Naruto and Dracmon's turn as they decided to try their hand at beatboxing. While Dracmon gave him the beat, Naruto sang:

 _Di Di Di...  
Digimon!  
Digimon!  
Di Di Di...  
Digimon!  
Digimon!  
Di Di Di...  
Digimon!  
Digital Monsters!  
Digimon are the champions!  
Digimon!  
Digital Monsters!  
Digimon are the champions!  
Change into Digital Champions to save the Digital World!  
Digimon!  
Digital Monsters!  
Digimon are the champions!  
Digimon!  
Digital Monsters!  
Digimon are the champions!  
Digivolve into champions!  
Digimon! Digital Monsters! Digimon are the champions!  
Digimon!  
Digital Monsters!  
Digimon are the champions!  
Digimon! Digital Monsters...  
DIGIMON!_

As he finished, the whiskered boy and his partner gave a bow, to which there was silence. "Save your applause, I know we were awesome," Dracmon said cheekily.

"That was…interesting," Sora offered.

"It was basically you repeating the same words and phrases over and over again like the theme song of a corny kid's show," Tai said bluntly.

"Hey! They might seem corny now, but I'm sure theme songs like this will become beloved parts of culture for generations to come!" Naruto defended.

"Beats Mimi's singing," Joe muttered, earning him a punch in the shoulder by the pink obsessed girl.

Tai then suggested a group singing session, which the other's happily obliged to…right up until Sora stopped and started to cry due to her experiencing the ever dreaded homesickness, brought on by the fact that she would always sing when she was doing the laundry at home. This of course proved that homesickness is contagious as the other kids began listing things from their world that they missed. Tai missed playing sports followed by a warm bath. T.K. missed video games and Matt missed steak. Joe missed homework (earning him odd looks from the other kids and a gagging motion by Naruto), Mimi missed the beach, and Izzy missed looking at stars and planets.

"Eh," Naruto thought while scratching his whiskered cheek, "I miss having movie night with my mom. We'd take turns picking out our favorite films and then watch them until we fall asleep." He then noticed the depressed looks on the other kids' faces before deciding to lighten the mood. "Hey, don't be so glum, chums!" the younger boy declared while getting everyone's attention. "So what we're far from home? It'll just make everything better when we make it back! Just think of this as our extended vacation without the annoying travel agents."

Before the others could comment, Tentomon hissed suddenly, "Quiet! Can you all hear that?" The group quieted down and heard what sounded like multiple voices drawing near their location, along with other noises that they couldn't identify but sounded disgusting. "Numemon," Tentomon informed the group with a grim voice.

Gomamon explained that Numemon were disgusting Digimon that lived in sewers and, while not particularly strong, traveled in large numbers making them fairly dangerous. Joe quickly suggested that they run, and the others soon agreed seeing no less than a dozen of the slug like Digimon racing down the sewer towards them. It became apparent why they needed to run from the Digimon, as the Numemon began chucking sewer sludge at them that looked like pink dog shit.

"Ugh! Are these guys slugs or monkeys?!" Naruto gripped as he dodged a sludge projectile.

"Neither, they're Numemon!" Gomamon replied snarkily.

"Rhetorical question, Gomamon!" Naruto shot back as they continued to run down the sewer.

Fortunately, T.K. found a turn off that led to the outside of the sewers and away from the light sensitive Numemon. "Well, I guess we escaped a _shitty_ situation!" Naruto joked, earning groans from the rest of the group for his pun.

"You really need to work on your _potty_ mouth," Dracmon returned, earning more groans.

"Well at least I don't have my mind in the _gutter!_ " Naruto replied.

"For the love of everything good and holy, make it stop!" Patamon cried, holding his ears/wings to block out any more bad puns.

The group walked away from the sewer, hoping to find some clue as to where they should go next in their quest to find a way home. They walked for nearly an hour when they came across a surprising sight! Dozens upon dozens of vending machines filled with different snacks and drinks littered the area. Mimi, despite the fact that this was obviously some sort of ploy, ran towards the machines in the hopes of getting a small taste of civilization.

"Welp, she's dead. Dibs on her hat!" Naruto called out.

"Di – dammit!" Dracmon grumbled as he was also about to call dibs on the pink headwear.

"Uh, Naruto, you do realize that you're talking about pilfering from someone who isn't even dead yet?" Izzy asked. "Also, that that's a girl's hat?"

"Eh, rate she's going I doubt she'd last a week. Plus, genderizing on clothing is BS anyway," Naruto replied nonchalantly, earning sweatdrops from the present DigiDestined.

They soon heard Mimi's shriek of terror as the vending machines popped open to reveal a Numemon hiding in each one. Apparently, the leader of the sewer Digimon had developed a crush on the pink wearing DigiDestined and asked her for a date. Receiving a brutal rejection, the Numemon called upon his hidden army that was able to come out thanks to some convenient cloud cover.

Seeing the approaching hoard, Naruto turned to the group and said casually, "Shall we run for our lives?"

"Let's!" the group agreed before running off once more, the pack of sludge flinging Numemon right on their tail.

"Alright everybody, let's split up!" Matt called out and the others soon went their separate ways to confuse the approaching Digimon.

Naruto and Dracmon ran into the nearby woods, a gang of Numemon following after them. The two, in a display that would make any Scooby Doo fan proud, ducked and weaved between the trees trying to lose their pursuers. They eventually found themselves with their backs literally against the wall as a large boulder surrounded by multiple trees blocked their path. The two quickly turned to run the other way but found their path blocked by the Numemon.

"Nowhere to run!" one of the Numemon cackled as it prepared to chuck more sewage sludge at their cornered prey.

Naruto calmly turned to Dracmon and said, "Well, I kind of decided on what we should do with that whole Andromon thing. Would you like a crack at figuring out how we're gonna get out of this one?"

His partner grinned, showing his sharp fangs. "Gladly," he replied before lunging at the tree next to him and taking out a huge chunk of it with an 'Undead Fang!'

"Enough games! You two got any last words?" another of the Numemon asked snidely.

Dracmon turned, spat the leftover bark out of his mouth and said, "Just this: Timber!"

"What are you - ?" the final Numemon asked before staring as the tree Dracmon took a bite out of came crashing down on the tree next to it, which in turn fell into the tree next to it, and again, and again, and again. Finally, the domino effect payed off as the tree right beside the Numemon started to collapse, causing them to cry out in fear and run in the opposite direction to avoid being crushed.

"Aww yeah~! Who da 'mon? I'm da – gack! Splinters!" Dracmon sputtered as he tried to remove the wood fragments from his tongue.

"That's using your head –er– mouth, Dracmon!" Naruto cheered.

"We should probably go looking for the others," Dracmon suggested once his mouth was splinter free.

"Yeah, though if any of us gets lost I'm _so_ lording it over Matt's head about it," Naruto agreed.

The two made their way through the woods, thankfully lacking Numemon. After a few minutes of walking, the two came across an interesting sight. Right smack dab in the middle of the woods was a brightly colored village that looked like it was taken straight from a Disney cartoon. It even had teddy bear themed items like balloons and signs as well as toys practically at every doorstep.

"W-what is this place?" Naruto gasped in awe, his eyes becoming twin stars as he stared at something from his second favorite dream (the first was swimming in ramen).

"This is Toy Town!" Dracmon explained, "It's a place where all abandoned toys in the Digital World go to get fixed up and is guarded by a powerful yet friendly Digimon named Monzaemon."

"Wow! I think I just died and went to heaven!" Naruto replied, looking around giddily. "So…many…TOYS!" With that, he began sprinting down the streets giggling like a lunatic.

Dracmon looked at his partner's odd behavior for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "When in Rome," he said before joining his friend in his shenanigans.

However, it soon became clear that something was up in the otherwise fun looking town. The streets where all but deserted and there wasn't a sound to be heard, save for an occasional toy going off. The duo slowed down and began to walk cautiously through the streets as they noticed the eerie quiet.

"It's more a ghost town than Toy Town," Dracmon observed, causing Naruto to shudder.

"D-don't talk about g-ghosts, okay man?" Naruto asked shakily. Dracmon stared at his partner oddly for a second before shrugging and continuing his search.

They turned a corner and came upon a startling sight! All the other DigiDestined, save Mimi, were running around, seemingly playing with the toys on the street but at the same time it looked more like they were being chased by the toys. What's more is that their faces had a glazed look about them and their laughter sounded forced and hollow. Their Digimon partners were nowhere to be found.

"Okay…I'm officially weirded out," Dracmon murmured as Tai ran past laughing blandly being chased by a toy firetruck. "As the resident expert on hypnosis and mind control, I'd say these guys have one heck of a mind whammy on them!"

"Oh, really? I thought they just got into the cactus juice as well," Naruto replied as he took out a camera and began snapping photos of his friends.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" the Virus Digimon asked.

"Collecting potential blackmail material," Naruto responded as he got a good shot of Matt being chased by a toy train. "You never know when it'll come in handy."

"Psst!"

"I know this is a serious situation, but when I'm I going to have an opportunity like this again! No need to get touchy," Naruto defended.

"I didn't say anything," Dracmon said as he got his own camera and began snapping pictures.

"Didn't you just hiss as me?" Naruto asked confused.

"No I-"

"Psst!"

"There it is again!" Naruto exclaimed, looking around for the source.

"Over there!" Dracmon pointed with a clawed finger at a nearby alleyway, where what looked like a dinosaur made of building blocks was gesturing to them while looking around nervously.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked.

"That's a ToyAgumon. They're Rookie Digimon that help operate Toy Town under Monzaemon's leadership," Dracmon explained. "It would appear it's asking us to go down a lone, dark alley with it. What do you think we should do?"

"…Despite multiple lessons on stranger danger, I think we gotta follow it to find out what happened to our friends," Naruto decided, receiving a nod from his partner.

The two quickly ran over to the alleyway and, once in front of the ToyAgumon she whispered in an urgent tone, "Quickly, follow me!"

The ToyAgumon then darted down the alley, the two following close behind. At the end of the alley, the ToyAgumon pulled a loose plank from the wooden fence to reveal a secret passage. The partners followed the toy Digimon through it to find a baker's dozen ToyAgumon huddled around in a hidden alleyway. They all turned to the two and began talking all at once.

"Oh thank the Sovereign someone's come!"

"Can you help us?"

"Please, save us from Monzaemon!"

Dracmon interrupted the tirade by whistling sharply on his fingers. "Yo! One at a time, huh? What's this about Monzaemon? I thought he was the guardian of Toy Town?"

One of the ToyAgumon came forward and said with tears in his eyes, "It's terrible! Several days ago, something happened to Monzaemon! He was always a kind hearted 'mon who would never harm a fly, but he suddenly became a big meanie! He'd force us ToyAgumon to work night and day on the toys to play with their user instead of the other way around and any other Digimon that would come by he'd either chase off, imprison, or enslave with his Heart Attack! We were only able to escape today because he was busy chasing after those humans and their Digimon earlier, but I'm sure he's going to come after us again before too long!"

"Wait, is that why my friends were acting like zombies?! What about their Digimon, what happened to them?" Naruto asked, suddenly serious and looking slightly worried.

"Monzaemon locked them in the Community Toy Chest. We need to get out of here before he does the same to us!" another ToyAgumon said nervously.

"No," Naruto said firmly, standing up on a barrel to get everyone's attention. "My friends are in trouble, and I don't plan on abandoning them to some deranged Digimon! As my one uncle says, 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash!' I'm not giving up on them and you shouldn't give up either. This is your home, and Monzaemon was your friend. If he's acting weird, you need to smack some sense back into him!"

The ToyAgumon looked slightly down yet hopeful at Naruto's berating/encouragement. One raised her blocky arms, "But how are we going to do that? We're just Rookies while Monzaemon's an Ultimate! We'd get deleted if we went up against him!"

"Don't worry about that, with the right amount of planning and stubbornness, even an ant can take down a tree! Besides," Naruto said with a mischievous grin as he looked around at the toy making supplies the alley contained, "we have more than enough here to bring Monzaemon off his high horse."

He then gathered the ToyAgumon and Dracmon into a huddle to begin his plans.

Monzaemon, a large teddy bear like Digimon wandered around Toy Town with sharp eyes, trying to spot the two DigiDestined he had yet to capture. His ears suddenly heard the sound of what sounded like a swarm of bees. Turning his head, the large Digimon saw over a dozen toy airplanes heading his direction. Most of them were being piloted by ToyAgumon, but both Naruto and Dracmon flew one themselves. Suddenly, the planes started shooting building blocks at Monzaemon, causing him to grunt in annoyance. He swatted his large arms in an attempt to knock the planes out of the sky, but they nimbly dodged his attacks. Suddenly, Naruto and Dracmon's planes flew over his head and dropped two water balloons on his head, which caused his face to be coated in orange and black paint. Sputtering, he stumbled around trying to rub the paint from his eyes but one of the ToyAgumon threw a roller skate right where he was about to walk, causing the Ultimate to slip and fall screaming into one of the nearby buildings.

"Yes! My master prank plan is coming to fruition! Keep up the pressure and he'll crack like an egg!" Naruto cheered.

"Hey, is that Mimi?" Dracmon called over to his partner, causing him to look and see the pink wearing DigiDestined with Palmon waving at them from the street. This distraction cost him, however, as Monzaemon got up from where he fell, his eyes glowing red in anger.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, turning and firing beams of energy from his eyes. The beams cut through the airplanes left and right, severing wings, blasting propellers, and destroying engines.

"Oh shit! EVERYBODY BAIL!" Naruto called out before jumping out of his falling plane. The other's soon joined him and pulled on their parachutes, causing large blanket shaped chutes to be released and slow their fall. Unfortunately, this left the attack force open to Monzaemon's Heart Attack, which engulfed them all and knocked them unconscious.

Naruto groaned as he got up. "Ugh, not again. Really gotta work on not getting knocked out like a bitch," he moaned, only to yelp when he got slapped upside the head. Looking for the perpetrator, Naruto was greeted by a less zombie like Matt looking sternly at his younger cousin for his language.

"Matt! You're okay!" Naruto cheered.

Matt broke his serious façade to smile at the whiskered boy. "Yeah, and I hear you helped with that from Mimi and Palmon."

"Are they okay? I didn't see what happened after that giant teddy got us in bubbles. Never before would I think I'd use that sentence," Naruto asked.

Matt explained that after Monzaemon took care of the air force, he turned his attention to Mimi and Palmon. The two were helped, surprisingly, by the Numemon from earlier as the leader still seemed to have a crush on the valley girl. The Numemon were unable to hurt the larger Digimon though and were easily batted aside, as was Palmon as she tried to help. In their desperation, Palmon activated her Digivolution and became Togemon, a large cactus Digimon. The two large Digimon duked it out, cactus vs teddy bear, until Togemon launched her signature Needle Spray attack, defeating the enemy Digimon and forcing another Black Gear to force itself from his back. Once that happened, Monzaemon became friendly again and released all their friends from their spell/imprisonment.

Naruto, Dracmon, and the ToyAgumon went to join the others as Monzaemon apologized for his actions. He explained that Toy Town was meant to be a safe haven for abandoned toys and that he developed a way to allow toy owners to walk in the toys' shoes. However, one day an evil feeling came over him caused by the Black Gear.

"Ya'know, I'm starting to see a pattern here," Naruto commented to which Izzy nodded.

"Yes, it appears that whenever we come across seemingly nice Digimon, they're under the control of those Black Gears and make them act in ways out of their original character," the computer whiz observed.

"And crazy too," Dracmon added, causing Izzy to roll his eyes.

Monzaemon then turned to the ToyAgumon and bowed his head, "I'm especially sorry for all the trouble I've caused for you guys. You've all been with me since Toy Town's beginning, and I truly regret hurting you."

The ToyAgumon were quick to forgive Monzaemon and even apologized for not being able to help him more when he was clearly not himself. They then turned to the DigiDestined and thanked them for making Toy Town fun again.

Naruto stepped forward and apologized, "I'm sorry I ended up getting you all caught. Guess it kind of makes my big dramatic speeches seem a little lackluster, huh?"

"Don't be silly Naruto!" one ToyAgumon exclaimed. "If it wasn't for you, we'd probably sat cowering in that alley instead of trying to help our friend and protect our home. Even if we didn't win, you showed us we can fight to protect all that we hold precious if Toy Town is ever threatened again and we won't have to hide behind Monzaemon for protection."

The other ToyAgumon all agreed and Matt ruffled his cousin's hair in a proud manner while T.K. and Dracmon gave him twin fist bumps. Naruto smiled widely and said, "Thanks guys!"

In thanks for saving him and protecting Toy Town, Monzaemon gave them all a big Heart Hug that had the group laughing merrily. The leader Numemon then reappeared to ask Mimi for a congratulatory kiss, to which she swiftly denies. They spent several hours enjoying Toy Town's hospitality before heading off onto their next adventure. What future adventures await our heroes?

Naruto turned to Mimi and said, "Ya'know Mimi, maybe if you give that Numemon a kiss, he'll turn into a handsome prince!"

"NO!" Mimi declard firmly as she swatted the younger boy over the head.

…Only time will tell!

 **AN:** So this is the third in my three chapter binge on this story. After this I plan on working on Naruto and Tora followed by my other continuous stories. By the time I update them all, I will have decided two things. 1. Will I put one of my other stories on temporary hiatus in order to focus on this one? 2. Should I continue the pre-chapter discussions? It will largely depend on the response I get for this story from now until then, so please let me know how you all feel via Reviews and PMs.

I'm sorry this took so long, was trying to figure out how to mix it up this chapter so its not just a rehash of canon and focus a little more on Naruto and Dracmon while still keeping the other DigiDestined relevant. I'm really hoping the second half of this chapter showed that Naruto, while tough and unpredictable like canon if not more so, is not invincible. He's prone to mistakes and loses just as much as anyone, but he has his friends and partners watching his back in case he messes up. Hope you all enjoyed and as always, **READ** and **REVIEW!**


	4. Notice

***NOTICE***

Now, before any of you decides they want to lynch me, I want to emphasize that I am NOT abandoning any of my current stories. And no, I am NOT going on a hiatus that will take until 2020 to end. That said, I am taking a short sabbatical from my continuous stories (Kid Kyubi, Jealous Fox, Yellow Flash Blue Blur, Return of the Awakened, Twice the Hero, Naruto and Tora, Virus Digidestined) for a couple months, six being the maximum. This is not a decision I made lightly, but it was one born more from necessity. Lately, I have been having so many ideas for new stories that I want to make challenges of, that it has been interfering with my creative process in writing my continuous stories. This in turn has led to some of my work being sloppy and not really thought out, which isn't fair at all to any of my loyal readers.

So, I'm going to take these next couple months to write up and post challenges as often as I am able as well as step back and reflect on where I want to take my current stories. I don't want any more of my stories to end up like Chimera Luffy, which started out good but eventually just became an exact rehash of canon. I know a lot of you are going to hate me for this, but I'd like my fellow writers to respect my decision as they know how hard writing a story can be, and for my fans who aren't writers to understand that writing doesn't come as easily to me as it does some people. While I'm on my sabbatical, I'll try writing a couple chapters for my other stories so that when I come back in full I can post multiple chapters one after the other.

In the meantime, please keep your eyes peeled for more of my challenges in the coming months, and I look forward to bringing you all more enjoyment for years to come!

Stay nerdy my friends!

~mellra


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